The sharpest budget coding model available if you need speed, volume, and a long context window without breaking your API budget.
88
Coding
52
Writing
58
Research
0
Images
91
Value
82
Long Context
Use this when
High-volume code generation, autocomplete pipelines, and developer tooling where cost efficiency matters more than peak reasoning depth.
Strengths
Exceptional value for code tasks at $0.25/1M input tokens — roughly 10x cheaper than GPT-5.1 flagship
400K context window handles large repositories, multi-file diffs, and long test suites in a single pass
Codex-tuned weights give it an edge over generic budget models like GPT-4o-mini on syntax accuracy and boilerplate generation
Fast inference makes it suitable for real-time IDE integrations and agentic coding loops
Weaknesses
Weaker at complex multi-step algorithmic reasoning compared to full GPT-5.1 or Claude Sonnet 4.6
Monthly cost estimate
See what OpenAI: GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini actually costs at your usage level
Input tokens / month1M
10k50M
Output tokens / month500k
10k25M
Input cost
$0.250
Output cost
$1.00
Total / month
$1.25
Based on OpenAI: GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini API pricing: $0.25/1M input · $2/1M output. Real costs vary by provider discounts and caching. Check the provider for exact current rates.
Price History
OpenAI: GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini pricing over time
→0% since May 9
4 data points · tracked daily since May 9, 2026
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High-volume code generation, autocomplete pipelines, and developer tooling where cost efficiency matters more than peak reasoning depth.. Start free — no card required.
Recommendations are made independently based on real-world use and public benchmarks. See our disclosures for details.
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OpenAIBudget
OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini
GPT-5 Mini is OpenAI's budget-tier distillation of GPT-5, designed for high-volume, cost-sensitive tasks that don't require full flagship reasoning depth. It supersedes GPT-4o with improved instruction following and a massively expanded 400K context window at a fraction of the cost.
Verdict
The new budget default for OpenAI API users: faster, cheaper, and smarter than GPT-4o with a context window that punches well above its price tier.
Quality score
66%
Pricing
$0.25/1M in
$2.00/1M out
Speed
Change history
Pricing moves, ranking shifts, and capability updates.
New ModelMar 27, 2026
OpenAI: GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini — added to UseRightAI
OpenAI: GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini (OpenAI) is now indexed. It supersedes GPT-4o. The sharpest budget coding model available if you need speed, volume, and a long context window without breaking your API budget.
OpenAI: GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini is best for high-volume code generation, autocomplete pipelines, and developer tooling where cost efficiency matters more than peak reasoning depth.. It is a strong fit when that workflow matters more than the tradeoffs around budget pricing and very fast speed.
When should I avoid OpenAI: GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini?
You need deep mathematical reasoning, complex architecture design decisions, or multimodal inputs — use GPT-5.1 or Claude Sonnet 4.6 instead.
What is a cheaper alternative to OpenAI: GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini?
Meta: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is the lower-cost option to compare first when you want a similar workflow fit with less token spend.
What is a faster alternative to OpenAI: GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini?
OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini is the better pick when response time matters more than maximum depth or premium quality.
Newsletter
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Skip this if
You need deep mathematical reasoning, complex architecture design decisions, or multimodal inputs — use GPT-5.1 or Claude Sonnet 4.6 instead.
Non-code creative writing and nuanced instruction-following lag behind frontier models
No native image input support limits multimodal coding tasks like UI-from-screenshot generation
Very fast
Best for high-volume production workloads — chatbots, summarization pipelines, and document q&a — where cost efficiency matters more than peak reasoning.
Context
400k tokens
Output cost of $2/1M tokens is higher than some competing budget models (Gemini Flash at ~$0.60/1M output). At scale, output-heavy tasks may erode cost advantages — monitor token ratios carefully. Supersedes GPT-4o, which may be deprecated on a rolling basis.
BudgetFastLong ContextHigh VolumeOpenAI
Best for
High-volume production workloads — chatbots, summarization pipelines, and document Q&A — where cost efficiency matters more than peak reasoning.
Claude 3.5 Haiku is Anthropic's fastest and most affordable model in the Claude 3.5 family, designed for high-throughput tasks requiring quick responses without sacrificing Claude's core instruction-following quality. It handles a massive 200K context window while maintaining speed suitable for production pipelines.
Verdict
The fastest way to get Claude's quality in production — just don't confuse 'fast' with 'cheap'.
Quality score
64%
Pricing
$0.80/1M in
$4.00/1M out
Speed
Very fast
Best for high-volume, latency-sensitive applications like chatbots, classification, data extraction, and agentic tool use where speed and cost matter more than peak reasoning depth.
Context
200k tokens
Output cost of $4/1M is notably higher than competing fast/mini models. Input cost at ~$0.80/1M is competitive. Best value emerges in input-heavy pipelines like document classification or RAG retrieval where output tokens are minimal.
High-volume, latency-sensitive applications like chatbots, classification, data extraction, and agentic tool use where speed and cost matter more than peak reasoning depth.
OpenAI's latest agentic flagship for coding, research, computer-use workflows, and long multi-step knowledge work.
Verdict
Best OpenAI flagship for agentic coding, research, and computer-use work.
Quality score
94%
Pricing
$5.00/1M in
$30.00/1M out
Speed
Balanced
Best for agentic coding, computer-use workflows, and complex research tasks
Context
1M tokens
Ranked from public benchmark and pricing data verified April 26, 2026: SWE-Bench Pro 58.6%, Terminal-Bench 2.0 82.7%, $5/$30 per 1M tokens, 1M API context.
AgenticCodingComputer useLong contextPremium
Best for
Agentic coding, computer-use workflows, and complex research tasks
