Both are OpenAI models. GPT-5.2 is the newer, generally stronger default; reach for GPT-4o mini when its lower price or a specific cost or latency profile matters more than the latest capabilities.
GPT-4o mini and GPT-5.2 are both OpenAI models, so the real question is not which lab to trust but which tier fits your workload and budget. GPT-4o mini is openAI's budget small multimodal model — cheap, fast text-and-vision intelligence that outscored peer small models like Gemini 1.5 Flash and Claude 3 Haiku on MMLU and HumanEval at launch. GPT-5.2 is a capable GPT-5-generation all-rounder, now succeeded by GPT-5.5. 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-4o mini is about 12× cheaper on input ($0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens vs $1.75/$14 per 1M tokens) — a large enough gap that at scale it can be the single biggest line item in the decision.
Context window: GPT-5.2 holds 3.1× more — 400K (~600 pages) vs 128K (~192 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
Recency: GPT-5.2 is the newer model by about 17 months (released December 11, 2025), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
GPT-4o mini
GPT-5.2
Provider
OpenAI (US)
OpenAI (US)
Released
July 18, 2024
December 11, 2025
Context window
128K (~192 pages)
400K (~600 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens
$1.75/$14 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image
text, image, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Very low cost per token for its capability tier: GPT-4o mini — A core design strength of GPT-4o mini.
Strong coding for a small model (87.2% HumanEval): GPT-4o mini — A core design strength of GPT-4o mini.
Leading MMLU among peer small models (82%): GPT-4o mini — A core design strength of GPT-4o mini.
Strong all-round reasoning: GPT-5.2 — A core design strength of GPT-5.2.
Reliable structured output: GPT-5.2 — A core design strength of GPT-5.2.
Broad ecosystem and tooling: GPT-5.2 — A core design strength of GPT-5.2.
Lowest cost at scale: GPT-4o mini — At $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input: GPT-5.2 — Its 400K window is about 3.1× larger, fitting roughly 600 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: GPT-4o mini — At $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens it undercuts GPT-5.2, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases: GPT-5.2 — Larger 400K window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is very low cost per token for its capability tier: GPT-4o mini — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is strong all-round reasoning: GPT-5.2 — That is its strongest area.
GPT-4o mini: where it fits
OpenAI's budget small multimodal model — cheap, fast text-and-vision intelligence that outscored peer small models like Gemini 1.5 Flash and Claude 3 Haiku on MMLU and HumanEval at launch. Released July 18, 2024 by OpenAI, it is built for very low cost per token for its capability tier, strong coding for a small model (87.2% HumanEval), leading MMLU among peer small models (82%), and text and image (vision) understanding in the API.
Its trade-offs are real: only 128K context with an October 2023 knowledge cutoff, and weaker on hard reasoning and coding than frontier models. At $0.15 in / $0.6 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
GPT-5.2: where it fits
A capable GPT-5-generation all-rounder, now succeeded by GPT-5.5. Released December 11, 2025 by OpenAI, it is built for strong all-round reasoning, reliable structured output, broad ecosystem and tooling, and professional workflows.
Its trade-offs: superseded by GPT-5.5, and smaller context than flagships. At $1.75 in / $14 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Because GPT-4o mini and GPT-5.2 come from the same lab (OpenAI), they share the same training philosophy and ecosystem — the decision is purely tier vs. cost. GPT-5.2 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-5.2 and drop down only with a concrete reason.
Frequently asked questions
Is GPT-4o mini or GPT-5.2 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, GPT-4o mini leans toward very low cost per token for its capability tier while GPT-5.2 leans toward strong all-round reasoning, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-4o mini or GPT-5.2?
GPT-4o mini is cheaper — $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens vs $1.75/$14 per 1M tokens, roughly 12× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
GPT-5.2 — 400K vs 128K, about 3.1× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Should I upgrade from GPT-4o mini to GPT-5.2?
Since both are OpenAI models, the newer one (GPT-5.2) is usually the better default unless you need a specific cost or latency profile from the other.
Which is newer, GPT-4o mini or GPT-5.2?
GPT-5.2 — released December 11, 2025, about 17 months after GPT-4o mini.
GPT-4o mini vs GPT-5.2
OpenAI · US | OpenAI · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Both are OpenAI models. GPT-5.2 is the newer, generally stronger default; reach for GPT-4o mini when its lower price or a specific cost or latency profile matters more than the latest capabilities.
GPT-4o mini and GPT-5.2 are both OpenAI models, so the real question is not which lab to trust but which tier fits your workload and budget. GPT-4o mini is openAI's budget small multimodal model — cheap, fast text-and-vision intelligence that outscored peer small models like Gemini 1.5 Flash and Claude 3 Haiku on MMLU and HumanEval at launch. GPT-5.2 is a capable GPT-5-generation all-rounder, now succeeded by GPT-5.5. 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-4o mini is about 12× cheaper on input ($0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens vs $1.75/$14 per 1M tokens) — a large enough gap that at scale it can be the single biggest line item in the decision.
▸Context window: GPT-5.2 holds 3.1× more — 400K (~600 pages) vs 128K (~192 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
▸Recency: GPT-5.2 is the newer model by about 17 months (released December 11, 2025), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
GPT-4o mini
GPT-5.2
Provider
OpenAI (US)
OpenAI (US)
Released
July 18, 2024
December 11, 2025
Context window
128K (~192 pages)
400K (~600 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens
$1.75/$14 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image
text, image, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Very low cost per token for its capability tier
GPT-4o mini
A core design strength of GPT-4o mini.
Strong coding for a small model (87.2% HumanEval)
GPT-4o mini
A core design strength of GPT-4o mini.
Leading MMLU among peer small models (82%)
GPT-4o mini
A core design strength of GPT-4o mini.
Strong all-round reasoning
GPT-5.2
A core design strength of GPT-5.2.
Reliable structured output
GPT-5.2
A core design strength of GPT-5.2.
Broad ecosystem and tooling
GPT-5.2
A core design strength of GPT-5.2.
Lowest cost at scale
GPT-4o mini
At $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input
GPT-5.2
Its 400K window is about 3.1× larger, fitting roughly 600 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ GPT-4o mini
At $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens it undercuts GPT-5.2, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ GPT-5.2
Larger 400K window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is very low cost per token for its capability tier
→ GPT-4o mini
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is strong all-round reasoning
→ GPT-5.2
That is its strongest area.
GPT-4o mini: where it fits
OpenAI's budget small multimodal model — cheap, fast text-and-vision intelligence that outscored peer small models like Gemini 1.5 Flash and Claude 3 Haiku on MMLU and HumanEval at launch. Released July 18, 2024 by OpenAI, it is built for very low cost per token for its capability tier, strong coding for a small model (87.2% HumanEval), leading MMLU among peer small models (82%), and text and image (vision) understanding in the API.
Its trade-offs are real: only 128K context with an October 2023 knowledge cutoff, and weaker on hard reasoning and coding than frontier models. At $0.15 in / $0.6 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
GPT-5.2: where it fits
A capable GPT-5-generation all-rounder, now succeeded by GPT-5.5. Released December 11, 2025 by OpenAI, it is built for strong all-round reasoning, reliable structured output, broad ecosystem and tooling, and professional workflows.
Its trade-offs: superseded by GPT-5.5, and smaller context than flagships. At $1.75 in / $14 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Because GPT-4o mini and GPT-5.2 come from the same lab (OpenAI), they share the same training philosophy and ecosystem — the decision is purely tier vs. cost. GPT-5.2 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-5.2 and drop down only with a concrete reason.
Want both GPT-4o mini and GPT-5.2 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 either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, GPT-4o mini leans toward very low cost per token for its capability tier while GPT-5.2 leans toward strong all-round reasoning, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-4o mini or GPT-5.2?
GPT-4o mini is cheaper — $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens vs $1.75/$14 per 1M tokens, roughly 12× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
GPT-5.2 — 400K vs 128K, about 3.1× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Should I upgrade from GPT-4o mini to GPT-5.2?
Since both are OpenAI models, the newer one (GPT-5.2) is usually the better default unless you need a specific cost or latency profile from the other.
Which is newer, GPT-4o mini or GPT-5.2?
GPT-5.2 — released December 11, 2025, about 17 months after GPT-4o 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.