Gemini 4 Carbon vs GPT-5.4 Mini
Google · US | OpenAI · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Gemini 4 Carbon for ranked first on the artificial analysis intelligence index v5.0 with 59 at launch (artificial analysis now shows 60) or google-reported 88.2% on sec-bench pro and 54.8% on exploitgym for vulnerability discovery and exploit validation. Pick GPT-5.4 Mini for free for every chatgpt user or fast, low-cost general tasks. On a tight budget at scale, GPT-5.4 Mini is the value pick.
Gemini 4 Carbon (Google) and GPT-5.4 Mini (OpenAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Gemini 4 Carbon is google's October 28, 2026 limited release for cyber defenders - top of the Artificial Analysis index at launch, priced at $2/$10 introductory, with no public API date yet. GPT-5.4 Mini is openAI's free, fast workhorse — capable general AI with no subscription needed. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: GPT-5.4 Mini is about 2.7× cheaper on input ($0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens vs $2/$10 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
- ▸Context window: Gemini 4 Carbon holds 2.5× more — 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) vs 400K (~600 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
- ▸Recency: Gemini 4 Carbon is the newer model by about 8 months (released October 28, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Gemini 4 Carbon | GPT-5.4 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Google (US) | OpenAI (US) |
| Released | October 28, 2026 | March 17, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) | 400K (~600 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $2/$10 per 1M tokens | $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, image, audio, video, code | text, image, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Ranked first on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v5.0 with 59 at launch (Artificial Analysis now shows 60)
Gemini 4 Carbon
Google's October 28, 2026 limited release for cyber defenders - top of the Artificial Analysis index at launch, priced at $2/$10 introductory, with no public API date yet — and it carries the larger 1M tokens context.
Google-reported 88.2% on SEC-bench Pro and 54.8% on ExploitGym for vulnerability discovery and exploit validation
Gemini 4 Carbon
Google's October 28, 2026 limited release for cyber defenders - top of the Artificial Analysis index at launch, priced at $2/$10 introductory, with no public API date yet — and it is the newer of the two.
Google-reported 71.0% on CWE-bench for patching
Gemini 4 Carbon
Gemini 4 Carbon lists google-reported 71.0% on CWE-bench for patching among its strengths; GPT-5.4 Mini does not.
Free for every ChatGPT user
GPT-5.4 Mini
OpenAI's free, fast workhorse — capable general AI with no subscription needed — and it runs cheaper at $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens.
Fast, low-cost general tasks
GPT-5.4 Mini
At $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts Gemini 4 Carbon ($2/$10 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Subagent capabilities
GPT-5.4 Mini
GPT-5.4 Mini lists subagent capabilities among its strengths; Gemini 4 Carbon does not.
Lowest cost at scale
GPT-5.4 Mini
At $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input
Gemini 4 Carbon
Its 1M tokens window is about 2.5× larger than GPT-5.4 Mini's 400K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ GPT-5.4 Mini
At $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts Gemini 4 Carbon, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Gemini 4 Carbon
Larger 1M tokens window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is ranked first on the artificial analysis intelligence index v5.0 with 59 at launch (artificial analysis now shows 60)
→ Gemini 4 Carbon
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is free for every chatgpt user
→ GPT-5.4 Mini
That is its strongest area.
Gemini 4 Carbon: where it fits
Google's October 28, 2026 limited release for cyber defenders - top of the Artificial Analysis index at launch, priced at $2/$10 introductory, with no public API date yet. Released October 28, 2026 by Google, it is built for ranked first on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v5.0 with 59 at launch (Artificial Analysis now shows 60), google-reported 88.2% on SEC-bench Pro and 54.8% on ExploitGym for vulnerability discovery and exploit validation, google-reported 71.0% on CWE-bench for patching, and introductory $2/$10 per million tokens, matching Gemini 4 Argon, with cached input 95% off.
Its trade-offs are real: limited release: rolling out to a subset of cyber defenders, then trusted partners via the Fairwind Program, with no date for developers or consumers, no public API model listing yet, so most users cannot call it today, introductory pricing rises to $4/$20 afterward, and Google has not said when that happens, and google has not published context or modality specs - the 1M window and modalities shown come from Artificial Analysis and Vals. At $2 in / $10 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
GPT-5.4 Mini: where it fits
OpenAI's free, fast workhorse — capable general AI with no subscription needed. Released March 17, 2026 by OpenAI, it is built for free for every ChatGPT user, fast, low-cost general tasks, subagent capabilities, and native multimodal reasoning.
Its trade-offs: smaller context than flagship models, and not for the hardest reasoning. At $0.75 in / $4.5 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Gemini 4 Carbon and GPT-5.4 Mini overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. GPT-5.4 Mini costs less per token; Gemini 4 Carbon holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Gemini 4 Carbon for ranked first on the artificial analysis intelligence index v5.0 with 59 at launch (artificial analysis now shows 60), GPT-5.4 Mini for free for every chatgpt user. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Gemini 4 Carbon and GPT-5.4 Mini without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is Gemini 4 Carbon or GPT-5.4 Mini better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Gemini 4 Carbon leans toward ranked first on the artificial analysis intelligence index v5.0 with 59 at launch (artificial analysis now shows 60) while GPT-5.4 Mini leans toward free for every chatgpt user, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 4 Carbon or GPT-5.4 Mini?
GPT-5.4 Mini is cheaper — $2/$10 per 1M tokens vs $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens, roughly 2.7× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Gemini 4 Carbon — 1M tokens vs 400K, about 2.5× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Gemini 4 Carbon and GPT-5.4 Mini together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Gemini 4 Carbon, GPT-5.4 Mini and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Gemini 4 Carbon or GPT-5.4 Mini?
Gemini 4 Carbon — released October 28, 2026, about 8 months after GPT-5.4 Mini.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.