GPT-5 Mini alternatives
Same input types and capabilities, at least half the context window · USD per 1M tokens
We found 10 models that can replace GPT-5 Mini ($0.25 input / $2.00 output per million tokens). 10 of them are cheaper. The cheapest, Qwen3.7 Flash, costs 92% less on a blended 3:1 basis: $0.56 instead of $6.50 per month for a chatbot workload (10M input / 2M output tokens).
// 10 alternatives
| model | lab | in $/1M | out $/1M | ctx | vs GPT-5 Mini | chatbot / mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3.7 Flash | Alibaba (Qwen) | $0.03 | $0.13 | 1M | −92% | $0.56 |
| Qwen3.5 9B | Alibaba (Qwen) | $0.10 | $0.15 | 262.1K | −83.6% | $1.30 |
| Muse Spark 1.2 Contributor | Meta | $0.10 | $0.20 | 1.05M | −81.8% | $1.40 |
| Muse Spark 1.3 Contributor | Meta | $0.10 | $0.20 | 1.05M | −81.8% | $1.40 |
| Gemma 4 26B A4B IT | $0.07 | $0.34 | 262.1K | −80% | $1.38 | |
| GPT-5 Nano | OpenAI | $0.05 | $0.40 | 400K | −80% | $1.30 |
| Qwen3.5 Flash | Alibaba (Qwen) | $0.10 | $0.40 | 1M | −74.5% | $1.80 |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite | $0.10 | $0.40 | 1.05M | −74.5% | $1.80 | |
| Claude Haiku 5.5 | Anthropic | $0.10 | $0.50 | 1M | −70.9% | $2.00 |
| GPT-6 Luna | OpenAI | $0.10 | $0.50 | 1.05M | −70.9% | $2.00 |
// how we pick alternatives
An alternative must accept every input type GPT-5 Mini accepts (text, image), offer the same tool-calling and reasoning support, and have at least half of its 400K-token context window. Models are sorted by blended price (3 × input + output) / 4, using base-tier list prices refreshed daily.