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.
Snapshot note (2026-04-24): GPT-5.5 launched April 23, 2026 — this article was written pre-launch and the matrix below does not include the GPT-5.5 line. GPT-5.5 doubled per-token prices on the GPT-5 family ($5 input / $30 output vs GPT-5's $2.50/
5); expect the "current flagship" designation to shift to GPT-5.5 within weeks. GPT-5.4 and mini/nano variants remain accessible for at least 12 months post-superseding. Verify live pricing on OpenAI's page before budget modeling.
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
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:
gpt-3.5-turbo — deprecated but functional until late 2026
gpt-4-turbo — deprecated, not recommended for new
gpt-4-1106-preview — legacy, avoid
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.
Is gpt-5.5 (Spud) released yet?
Yes — GPT-5.5 shipped April 23, 2026 at $5 input / $30 output per MTok (2× the GPT-5.4 list price), with 88.7% SWE-Bench Verified, 92.4% MMLU, 60% hallucination reduction vs GPT-5.4, and natively omnimodal architecture. See GPT-5.5 full review and the original release date prediction.
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.
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.
