GPT-5 Mini
GPT-5 Mini is OpenAI's faster version of GPT 5, used as the fallback model for free ChatGPT users and capped at 'high' reasoning effort in the API.
Model Overview
Capabilities, design details, and architectural traits
GPT-5 Mini - A Faster Version of GPT 5
GPT 5 Mini is documented as a faster version of GPT 5, built for well-defined tasks and precise prompts. It sits inside OpenAI's GPT 5 lineup as the size meant to trade some capability for speed.
| Trait | Detail |
|---|---|
| Defining purpose | A faster version of GPT 5, suited to well-defined tasks and precise prompts rather than the hardest reasoning problems. |
| ChatGPT fallback role | Documented as the model free ChatGPT users are switched to once they reach their GPT 5 usage limits, rather than a model chosen directly. |
| Reasoning effort ceiling | OpenAI states the highest reasoning_effort setting available for GPT 5 Mini is high, one tier below the extra-high setting offered on larger models. |
| Documented lineage | Positioned as the successor to o4-mini, and recommended over GPT-4.1 mini when a task needs more complex handling. |
Released as Part of a Three-Size Family
OpenAI released GPT 5 in three sizes at once: GPT 5, GPT 5-mini, and GPT 5-nano, explicitly to let developers trade off performance and latency. GPT 5 Mini is the middle tier in that set, between the nano model and the full GPT 5 model.
Benchmark Performance
Independent evaluations · Artificial Analysis
Accuracy & Capability Details
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| Model Details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| General Info | |||
| Provider | OpenAI | Anthropic | Anthropic |
| Release Date | August 7, 2025 | September 22, 2026 | September 28, 2026 |
| Knowledge Cutoff | May 2024 | - | Jun 2026 |
| Context & Limits | |||
| Context Window | 400K | 1M Best Context Window | 1M Best Context Window |
| Pricing (per 1M tokens) | |||
| Input Pricing | $0.25 Best Input Pricing | $4 | $2 |
| Output Pricing | $2 Best Output Pricing | $20 | $10 |
| Modalities | |||
| Inputs | textimagefile | textimagefile | textimagefile |
| Outputs | text | text | text |
| Benchmarks (0-100) | |||
| Intelligence Index | 16.8 | 57.6 Best Intelligence Index | 56.0 |
| Coding Index | 15.6 | - | - |
| Agentic Index | 6.8 | - | - |
Humanity's Last Exam
Extremely difficult logical reasoning and knowledge.
Long Context Reasoning
Logical reasoning over long context windows.
SciCode Benchmark
Scientific coding and mathematical modeling.
Independent evaluation data provided by Artificial Analysis. To view the latest benchmarks and full details, visit their official site.
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