GPT-4.1 Mini vs Grok 4.7

OpenAI · US  |  xAI · US · Updated June 2026

Quick verdict

Pick GPT-4.1 Mini for very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens or instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on ifeval, beating gpt-4o. Pick Grok 4.7 for 2.1 trillion parameters, up 40% from grok 4.6's 1.5 trillion, at the same $2/$6 per million token price or deepswe v1.1 (high effort): 71.0%, up from grok 4.6's 65.2%; cursorbench 4.0: 46.3%, up from 40.4%. On a tight budget at scale, GPT-4.1 Mini is the value pick.

GPT-4.1 Mini (OpenAI) and Grok 4.7 (xAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. GPT-4.1 Mini is a cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT. Grok 4.7 is xAI's September 21, 2026 update — a 2.1T-parameter model trained partly on SpaceX hardware data, same price as Grok 4.6 but stronger on coding benchmarks. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.

Key differences at a glance

Side-by-side specs

SpecGPT-4.1 MiniGrok 4.7
ProviderOpenAI (US) xAI (US)
ReleasedApril 14, 2025 September 21, 2026
Context window1M (~1,571 pages) 500K tokens (~750 pages)
Price (in/out)$0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens $2/$6 per 1M tokens
Open weight?No — API only No — API only
Modalitiestext, image, code text, image, code
SWE-Bench Verified23.6% Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1MNot 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

At $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens it undercuts Grok 4.7 ($2/$6 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.

Instruction following above its weight class — 84.1% on IFEval, beating GPT-4o

GPT-4.1 Mini

A cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT — and it runs cheaper at $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens.

Multi-turn coherence for its tier — 35.8% on MultiChallenge, roughly 1.8x GPT-4o mini

GPT-4.1 Mini

A cheap, fast 1M-context workhorse with strong instruction following but weak coding — already retired from ChatGPT — and it carries the larger 1M context.

2.1 trillion parameters, up 40% from Grok 4.6's 1.5 trillion, at the same $2/$6 per million token price

Grok 4.7

XAI's September 21, 2026 update — a 2.1T-parameter model trained partly on SpaceX hardware data, same price as Grok 4.6 but stronger on coding benchmarks — and it is the newer of the two.

DeepSWE v1.1 (high effort): 71.0%, up from Grok 4.6's 65.2%; CursorBench 4.0: 46.3%, up from 40.4%

Grok 4.7

Grok 4.7 lists deepSWE v1.1 (high effort): 71.0%, up from Grok 4.6's 65.2%; CursorBench 4.0: 46.3%, up from 40.4% among its strengths; GPT-4.1 Mini does not.

Trained with supplemental SpaceX data (Starlink telemetry, manufacturing records, engineering failure logs) — xAI says this improves reasoning about hardware and physical systems

Grok 4.7

GPT-4.1 Mini is comparatively weak here — a June 2024 knowledge cutoff, now roughly two years stale, and no reasoning mode

Lowest cost at scale

GPT-4.1 Mini

At $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.

Largest single-prompt input

GPT-4.1 Mini

Its 1M window is about 2.1× larger than Grok 4.7's 500K tokens, fitting roughly 1,571 pages in one prompt.

Which should you pick?

A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume

GPT-4.1 Mini

At $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens it undercuts Grok 4.7, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.

Someone analysing very long documents or codebases

GPT-4.1 Mini

Larger 1M 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 2.1 trillion parameters, up 40% from grok 4.6's 1.5 trillion, at the same $2/$6 per million token price

Grok 4.7

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.

Grok 4.7: where it fits

XAI's September 21, 2026 update — a 2.1T-parameter model trained partly on SpaceX hardware data, same price as Grok 4.6 but stronger on coding benchmarks. Released September 21, 2026 by xAI, it is built for 2.1 trillion parameters, up 40% from Grok 4.6's 1.5 trillion, at the same $2/$6 per million token price, deepSWE v1.1 (high effort): 71.0%, up from Grok 4.6's 65.2%; CursorBench 4.0: 46.3%, up from 40.4%, trained with supplemental SpaceX data (Starlink telemetry, manufacturing records, engineering failure logs) — xAI says this improves reasoning about hardware and physical systems, and xAI's strongest safety guardrails to date, per the company.

Its trade-offs: release was delayed at least five times since late July 2026 before shipping, 500K context window trails several rivals now sitting at 1M+, and reviewers note it arrives "late to the AI frontier party" against GPT-6 Astra, Claude Fable 5.1 and Opus 5.5, all shipped in the weeks just before it. At $2 in / $6 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.

The bottom line for this matchup

GPT-4.1 Mini and Grok 4.7 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. GPT-4.1 Mini costs less per token; GPT-4.1 Mini holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — GPT-4.1 Mini for very cheap high-volume text work at $0.40 in / $1.60 out per million tokens, Grok 4.7 for 2.1 trillion parameters, up 40% from grok 4.6's 1.5 trillion, at the same $2/$6 per million token price. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.

Want both GPT-4.1 Mini and Grok 4.7 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 pricing

Frequently asked questions

Is GPT-4.1 Mini or Grok 4.7 better for coding?

Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for Grok 4.7, 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 Grok 4.7 leans toward 2.1 trillion parameters, up 40% from grok 4.6's 1.5 trillion, at the same $2/$6 per million token price, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.

Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 Mini or Grok 4.7?

GPT-4.1 Mini is cheaper — $0.4/$1.6 per 1M tokens vs $2/$6 per 1M tokens, roughly 5× apart on input.

Which has the bigger context window?

GPT-4.1 Mini — 1M vs 500K tokens, about 2.1× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.

Can I use both GPT-4.1 Mini and Grok 4.7 together?

Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-4.1 Mini, Grok 4.7 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, GPT-4.1 Mini or Grok 4.7?

Grok 4.7 — released September 21, 2026, about 18 months after GPT-4.1 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.