TokenMix Research Lab · 2026-04-24

All ChatGPT Models Compared 2026: 4o, 4.1, 5, 5.1, Codex

All ChatGPT Models Compared 2026: 4o, 4.1, 5, 5.1, Codex

OpenAI's model lineup in 2026 includes 14+ distinct GPT variants accessible via the API, each with different pricing, context windows, specialization, and quality tiers. This complete comparison covers GPT-4o, GPT-4o-mini, GPT-4.1, GPT-4.5, GPT-5, GPT-5-mini, GPT-5-nano, GPT-5.1, GPT-5.2, GPT-5.4 (Standard/Thinking/Pro), and Codex variants — with side-by-side pricing, benchmark scores, max context, and the decision framework for "which to use when". All data verified against OpenAI's pricing page and model documentation as of April 24, 2026. TokenMix.ai routes all 14+ variants through one OpenAI-compatible endpoint for easy A/B testing.

Table of Contents

Confirmed vs Speculation

Claim Status Source
14+ GPT variants currently available Confirmed OpenAI pricing
GPT-5.4 is current Standard flagship Confirmed March 2026 release
GPT-5.5 "Spud" upcoming Confirmed — not yet released GPT-5.5 release date
GPT-5.4 Pro at premium pricing Confirmed $30/ 80 per MTok
All models share 272K context (except 4o variants at 128K) Partial — varies
GPT-5.4 Thinking uses test-time compute Confirmed OSWorld benchmark
Models deprecated after 18 months typical Generally true

Complete Model Matrix

Model Input $/MTok Output $/MTok Context Best for
Legacy 4o family
gpt-4o $2.50 0 128K Legacy production
gpt-4o-mini $0.15 $0.60 128K Cheap general chat
gpt-4-1106-preview 0 $30 128K Deprecated, avoid
4.1 family
gpt-4.1 $2.00 $8 1M Long-context 4o successor
gpt-4.1-mini $0.40 .60 1M Budget long-context
gpt-4.1-nano $0.10 $0.40 1M Cheapest long-context
gpt-4.5 $75 50 128K Premium research
GPT-5 family
gpt-5 $2.50 5 272K Flagship base
gpt-5-mini $0.25 $2 272K GPT-5 budget
gpt-5-nano $0.05 $0.40 272K Cheapest GPT-5
gpt-5-pro $30 80 272K Premium reasoning
gpt-5-codex $2.50 5 272K Coding specialist
GPT-5.1-5.2 family
gpt-5.1 $2.50 5 272K Current best chat
gpt-5.1-codex $2.50 5 272K Current coding
gpt-5.1-codex-max 0 $40 272K Premium coding
gpt-5.2 Preview Preview 272K Preview access only
GPT-5.4 family
gpt-5.4 $2.50 5 272K Current flagship
gpt-5.4-mini $0.25 272K Current budget
gpt-5.4-nano $0.05 $0.40 272K Ultra budget
gpt-5.4-pro $30 80 272K Premium tier
gpt-5.4-thinking $2.50 5* 272K Test-time reasoning

*Thinking mode bills extra reasoning tokens as output

Pricing Tier Breakdown

Cost tiers grouped:

Ultra-budget ($0.05-0.10 input): gpt-5-nano, gpt-5.4-nano, gpt-4.1-nano — use for classification, tagging, batch summarization

Budget ($0.15-0.40 input): gpt-4o-mini, gpt-4.1-mini, gpt-5-mini, gpt-5.4-mini — general chat at scale

Standard ($2.00-2.50 input): gpt-4o, gpt-4.1, gpt-5, gpt-5.1, gpt-5.4, all codex variants — default production

Premium ( 0+ input): gpt-5.1-codex-max ( 0), gpt-5-pro / gpt-5.4-pro ($30), gpt-4.5 ($75) — specialized

Which Model for Which Task

Task Recommended model Why
Default production chat gpt-5.4 Latest, balanced
Classification / labeling gpt-5.4-nano 50× cheaper
Real-time chat (latency-critical) gpt-5.4-mini Fast + cheap
Coding agent gpt-5.1-codex or Claude Opus 4.7 Code-specialized
Complex multi-step reasoning gpt-5.4-thinking Test-time compute
Long document analysis (>200K) gpt-4.1 (1M context) Context ceiling
Autonomous complex refactor gpt-5.1-codex-max Extended thinking
Research-grade reasoning gpt-4.5 or gpt-5-pro Premium quality
Vision + text gpt-5.4 Multimodal in flagship
Real-time audio gpt-4o-realtime-preview WebSocket
Fine-tuning base gpt-4o-mini Still supported for FT

Cost Math: Typical Monthly Spend

Mid-size SaaS, 500M input + 125M output tokens/month:

Model Input cost Output cost Total
gpt-5.4-nano $25 $50 $75
gpt-5.4-mini 25 25 $250
gpt-5.4 ,250 ,875 $3,125
gpt-5.4-thinking ,250 $3,750 (inflated) $5,000
gpt-5.4-pro 5,000 $22,500 $37,500

For most products, routing 70% to nano/mini + 25% to standard + 5% to pro/thinking saves 60-80% vs single-tier.

Deprecated Models Still Available

OpenAI keeps older models accessible for ~18 months:

For migration from these, skip directly to gpt-5.4 family.

FAQ

What's the single best ChatGPT model in 2026?

Depends on criteria. Cheapest: gpt-5.4-nano ($0.05/$0.40). Balanced: gpt-5.4 ($2.50/ 5). Coding: gpt-5.1-codex. Long-context: gpt-4.1 (1M context). Premium: gpt-5.4-pro or gpt-4.5.

Is gpt-5.4 the same as gpt-5?

No. gpt-5 was the original 5-series flagship (August 2025). gpt-5.4 is the current generation (March 2026) with meaningful capability improvements. For new projects, gpt-5.4.

When will gpt-5.5 (Spud) release?

Expected Q2 2026. Pretraining completed March 24, 2026. See GPT-5.5 release date tracker.

Is gpt-4.1 still worth using?

Yes for 1M-context workloads. It's the cheapest long-context option at $0.10-$2.00 input. For <272K context, use gpt-5.4 instead.

What about GPT-6?

Unreleased. Some rumors circulating but not officially announced. See GPT-6 release date tracker.

How do I migrate from gpt-4o to gpt-5.4?

Drop-in model name change. Same API, similar pricing, better quality. Test 100 representative prompts to verify quality improvement on your use case.

Is there a GPT-5.4 Vision?

Vision is integrated into gpt-5.4 itself (accepts images in messages). No separate "Vision" variant. Same for gpt-5.1, gpt-4.1, gpt-4o — all multimodal.

Sources

By TokenMix Research Lab · Updated 2026-04-24