Both are OpenAI models. GPT-6 Luna is the newer, generally stronger default; reach for GPT-4.1 Mini when a specific cost or latency profile matters more than the latest capabilities.
GPT-4.1 Mini and GPT-6 Luna are both OpenAI models, so the real question is not which lab to trust but which tier fits your workload and budget. GPT-4.1 Mini is a cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT. GPT-6 Luna is openAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier, released September 22, 2026 alongside GPT-6 Sol — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, built for speed over depth. Since both come from the same lab, the comparison below focuses on the tier-and-cost trade-offs that actually separate them.
Key differences
Price: GPT-6 Luna is about 4× cheaper on input ($0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens vs $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
Context window: 1M vs 1.05M tokens — within a few percent of each other, so treat this as a tie and test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
Recency: GPT-6 Luna is the newer model by about 18 months (released September 22, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
GPT-4.1 Mini
GPT-6 Luna
Provider
OpenAI (US)
OpenAI (US)
Released
April 14, 2025
September 22, 2026
Context window
1M (~1,571 pages)
1.05M tokens (~1,575 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens
$0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, image
SWE-Bench Verified
23.6%
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens: GPT-4.1 Mini — GPT-6 Luna is comparatively weak here — less reasoning capability than sibling GPT-6 Sol — built for speed and volume, not hard problems
Instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on IFEval, beating GPT-4o: GPT-4.1 Mini — GPT-4.1 Mini lists instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on IFEval, beating GPT-4o among its strengths; GPT-6 Luna does not.
Multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini: GPT-4.1 Mini — GPT-4.1 Mini lists multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini among its strengths; GPT-6 Luna does not.
OpenAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume: GPT-6 Luna — At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts GPT-4.1 Mini ($0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Available to Free and Go plan users in the ChatGPT desktop app, not gated to paid tiers: GPT-6 Luna — GPT-4.1 Mini is comparatively weak here — retired from ChatGPT in February 2026, and OpenAI's own docs now point users to GPT-5 mini instead
Cache reads at $0.01/MTok — a 90% discount, the cheapest in the GPT-6 family: GPT-6 Luna — OpenAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier, released September 22, 2026 alongside GPT-6 Sol — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, built for speed over depth — and it runs cheaper at $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens.
Lowest cost at scale: GPT-6 Luna — At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: GPT-6 Luna — At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts GPT-4.1 Mini, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases: GPT-6 Luna — Larger 1.05M tokens window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens: GPT-4.1 Mini — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is openai's cheapest gpt-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume: GPT-6 Luna — That is its strongest area.
GPT-4.1 Mini: where it fits
A cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT. Released April 14, 2025 by OpenAI, it is built for very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens, instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on IFEval, beating GPT-4o, multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini, and a full 1M context at flat pricing, with no long-context premium.
Its trade-offs are real: weak at agentic coding — its 23.6% on SWE-Bench Verified sits below GPT-4o's 33.2%, retired from ChatGPT in February 2026, and OpenAI's own docs now point users to GPT-5 mini instead, and a June 2024 knowledge cutoff, now roughly two years stale, and no reasoning mode. At $0.4 in / $1.6 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
GPT-6 Luna: where it fits
OpenAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier, released September 22, 2026 alongside GPT-6 Sol — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, built for speed over depth. Released September 22, 2026 by OpenAI, it is built for openAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume, available to Free and Go plan users in the ChatGPT desktop app, not gated to paid tiers, cache reads at $0.01/MTok — a 90% discount, the cheapest in the GPT-6 family, and 1.05M-token context window carried down from the flagship tier.
Its trade-offs: less reasoning capability than sibling GPT-6 Sol — built for speed and volume, not hard problems, and as the entry-level tier, expect it to be the first model swapped out when OpenAI ships the next cost-tier refresh. At $0.1 in / $0.5 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Because GPT-4.1 Mini and GPT-6 Luna come from the same lab (OpenAI), they share the same training philosophy and ecosystem — the decision is purely tier vs. cost. GPT-6 Luna is the more capable, more recent option; the other earns its place only when its price or latency profile fits a specific job better. Most teams should default to GPT-6 Luna and drop down only with a concrete reason.
Frequently asked questions
Is GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-6 Luna better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for GPT-6 Luna, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, GPT-4.1 Mini leans toward very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens while GPT-6 Luna leans toward openai's cheapest gpt-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-6 Luna?
GPT-6 Luna is cheaper — $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens vs $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens, roughly 4× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Effectively neither — 1M vs 1.05M tokens is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Should I upgrade from GPT-4.1 Mini to GPT-6 Luna?
Since both are OpenAI models, the newer one (GPT-6 Luna) is usually the better default unless you need a specific cost or latency profile from the other.
Which is newer, GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-6 Luna?
GPT-6 Luna — released September 22, 2026, about 18 months after GPT-4.1 Mini.
GPT-4.1 Mini vs GPT-6 Luna
OpenAI · US | OpenAI · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Both are OpenAI models. GPT-6 Luna is the newer, generally stronger default; reach for GPT-4.1 Mini when a specific cost or latency profile matters more than the latest capabilities.
GPT-4.1 Mini and GPT-6 Luna are both OpenAI models, so the real question is not which lab to trust but which tier fits your workload and budget. GPT-4.1 Mini is a cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT. GPT-6 Luna is openAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier, released September 22, 2026 alongside GPT-6 Sol — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, built for speed over depth. Since both come from the same lab, the comparison below focuses on the tier-and-cost trade-offs that actually separate them.
Key differences at a glance
▸Price: GPT-6 Luna is about 4× cheaper on input ($0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens vs $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
▸Context window: 1M vs 1.05M tokens — within a few percent of each other, so treat this as a tie and test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
▸Recency: GPT-6 Luna is the newer model by about 18 months (released September 22, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
GPT-4.1 Mini
GPT-6 Luna
Provider
OpenAI (US)
OpenAI (US)
Released
April 14, 2025
September 22, 2026
Context window
1M (~1,571 pages)
1.05M tokens (~1,575 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens
$0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, image
SWE-Bench Verified
23.6%
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens
GPT-4.1 Mini
GPT-6 Luna is comparatively weak here — less reasoning capability than sibling GPT-6 Sol — built for speed and volume, not hard problems
Instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on IFEval, beating GPT-4o
GPT-4.1 Mini
GPT-4.1 Mini lists instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on IFEval, beating GPT-4o among its strengths; GPT-6 Luna does not.
Multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini
GPT-4.1 Mini
GPT-4.1 Mini lists multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini among its strengths; GPT-6 Luna does not.
OpenAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume
GPT-6 Luna
At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts GPT-4.1 Mini ($0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Available to Free and Go plan users in the ChatGPT desktop app, not gated to paid tiers
GPT-6 Luna
GPT-4.1 Mini is comparatively weak here — retired from ChatGPT in February 2026, and OpenAI's own docs now point users to GPT-5 mini instead
Cache reads at $0.01/MTok — a 90% discount, the cheapest in the GPT-6 family
GPT-6 Luna
OpenAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier, released September 22, 2026 alongside GPT-6 Sol — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, built for speed over depth — and it runs cheaper at $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens.
Lowest cost at scale
GPT-6 Luna
At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ GPT-6 Luna
At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts GPT-4.1 Mini, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ GPT-6 Luna
Larger 1.05M tokens window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens
→ GPT-4.1 Mini
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is openai's cheapest gpt-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume
→ GPT-6 Luna
That is its strongest area.
GPT-4.1 Mini: where it fits
A cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT. Released April 14, 2025 by OpenAI, it is built for very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens, instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on IFEval, beating GPT-4o, multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini, and a full 1M context at flat pricing, with no long-context premium.
Its trade-offs are real: weak at agentic coding — its 23.6% on SWE-Bench Verified sits below GPT-4o's 33.2%, retired from ChatGPT in February 2026, and OpenAI's own docs now point users to GPT-5 mini instead, and a June 2024 knowledge cutoff, now roughly two years stale, and no reasoning mode. At $0.4 in / $1.6 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
GPT-6 Luna: where it fits
OpenAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier, released September 22, 2026 alongside GPT-6 Sol — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, built for speed over depth. Released September 22, 2026 by OpenAI, it is built for openAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume, available to Free and Go plan users in the ChatGPT desktop app, not gated to paid tiers, cache reads at $0.01/MTok — a 90% discount, the cheapest in the GPT-6 family, and 1.05M-token context window carried down from the flagship tier.
Its trade-offs: less reasoning capability than sibling GPT-6 Sol — built for speed and volume, not hard problems, and as the entry-level tier, expect it to be the first model swapped out when OpenAI ships the next cost-tier refresh. At $0.1 in / $0.5 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Because GPT-4.1 Mini and GPT-6 Luna come from the same lab (OpenAI), they share the same training philosophy and ecosystem — the decision is purely tier vs. cost. GPT-6 Luna is the more capable, more recent option; the other earns its place only when its price or latency profile fits a specific job better. Most teams should default to GPT-6 Luna and drop down only with a concrete reason.
Want both GPT-4.1 Mini and GPT-6 Luna 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.
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for GPT-6 Luna, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, GPT-4.1 Mini leans toward very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens while GPT-6 Luna leans toward openai's cheapest gpt-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-6 Luna?
GPT-6 Luna is cheaper — $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens vs $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens, roughly 4× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Effectively neither — 1M vs 1.05M tokens is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Should I upgrade from GPT-4.1 Mini to GPT-6 Luna?
Since both are OpenAI models, the newer one (GPT-6 Luna) is usually the better default unless you need a specific cost or latency profile from the other.
Which is newer, GPT-4.1 Mini or GPT-6 Luna?
GPT-6 Luna — released September 22, 2026, about 18 months after GPT-4.1 Mini.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.