Model comparison
GPT-4.1 mini vs o4-mini (high)
Head-to-head evidence from 1 shared benchmark result across 1 category. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: GPT-4.1 mini #160 (Estimated); o4-mini (high) #123 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. GPT-4.1 mini and o4-mini (high) share 1 comparable benchmark result. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 21 results are unique to GPT-4.1 mini; 1 to o4-mini (high).
Updated July 24, 2026- Shared results
- 1
- GPT-4.1 mini only
- 21
- o4-mini (high) only
- 1
- Comparable categories
- 1 / 8
Pick o4-mini (high) if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-4.1 mini only becomes the better choice if you need the larger 1M context window or you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 1 shared benchmark result across 1 evidence category; 1 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
o4-mini (high) is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 49.19 to 43.1. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
o4-mini (high)'s sharpest advantage is in mathematics, where it averages 20.2 against 4.5. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3), 4.483% to 24.828%.
o4-mini (high) is the reasoning model in the pair, while GPT-4.1 mini is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use. GPT-4.1 mini gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 200K for o4-mini (high).
Category breakdown
Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.
| Category | GPT-4.1 mini | Δ | o4-mini (high) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | GPT-4.1 mini4.5 | Margin→ 15.7 | o4-mini (high)20.2 |
| Coding | GPT-4.1 mini23.6 | MarginNo overlap | o4-mini (high)Not measured |
| Knowledge | GPT-4.1 mini64.2 | MarginNo overlap | o4-mini (high)Not measured |
| Inst. Following | GPT-4.1 mini88.5 | MarginNo overlap | o4-mini (high)Not measured |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)
MathA 4.483%B 24.828%Winner: o4-mini (high)Δ 20.3FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3): GPT-4.1 mini scored 4.483%; o4-mini (high) scored 24.828%. o4-mini (high) wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | GPT-4.1 mini | o4-mini (high) | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | GPT-4.1 mini$0.4 input / $1.6 output | o4-mini (high)Not available | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | GPT-4.1 mini80 tok/s | o4-mini (high)161 tok/s | o4-mini (high) has the higher measured throughput. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | GPT-4.1 mini0.76 s | o4-mini (high)21.94 s | GPT-4.1 mini reaches the first token sooner. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | GPT-4.1 mini1M | o4-mini (high)200K | GPT-4.1 mini lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic4 benchmarks
Coding3 benchmarks
Reasoning2 benchmarks
Knowledge8 benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-4.1 mini | o4-mini (high) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLUSource | 87.5% | — | Not comparable |
| GPQASource | 64.2% | — | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 14.8% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 66.4% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | 4.6% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -50.1% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 17.5% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 82.0% | — | Not comparable |
Matho4-mini (high) wins2 benchmarks
Multimodal2 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (2)
Which is better, GPT-4.1 mini or o4-mini (high)?
o4-mini (high) is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 49.19 to 43.1. The biggest single separator in this matchup is FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3), where the scores are 4.483% and 24.828%.
Which is better for math, GPT-4.1 mini or o4-mini (high)?
o4-mini (high) has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 20.2 versus 4.5. Inside this category, FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3) is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.