GPT-4o mini vs Hunyuan Hy4
OpenAI · US | Tencent · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick GPT-4o mini for very low cost per token for its capability tier or strong coding for a small model (87.2% humaneval). Pick Hunyuan Hy4 for first hunyuan model with vision and computer use, adding image input to the text-only hy4 preview or tencent-reported gains over the preview of 19.1% on gamedev and 9.8% on gamelogic. On a tight budget at scale, GPT-4o mini is the value pick.
GPT-4o mini (OpenAI, US) and Hunyuan Hy4 (Tencent, China) line up two different AI ecosystems against each other — a comparison that is as much about cost philosophy and openness as raw capability. 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. Hunyuan Hy4 is tencent's November 4, 2026 full Hy4 release - a 1M-context model that adds vision and computer use at about $0.90/$2.70, with weights promised but not yet public. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: GPT-4o mini is about 6× cheaper on input ($0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens vs $0.9/$2.7 per 1M tokens) — a large enough gap that at scale it can be the single biggest line item in the decision.
- ▸Context window: Hunyuan Hy4 holds 8.2× more — 1M tokens (~1,573 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: Hunyuan Hy4 is the newer model by about 28 months (released November 4, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
- ▸Ecosystem: this is a US-vs-China matchup — they differ in pricing philosophy, data-residency options, and tooling ecosystems, not only benchmarks.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | GPT-4o mini | Hunyuan Hy4 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI (US) | Tencent (China) |
| Released | July 18, 2024 | November 4, 2026 |
| Context window | 128K (~192 pages) | 1M tokens (~1,573 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens | $0.9/$2.7 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
At $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens it undercuts Hunyuan Hy4 ($0.9/$2.7 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Strong coding for a small model (87.2% HumanEval)
GPT-4o mini
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 — and it runs cheaper at $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens.
Leading MMLU among peer small models (82%)
GPT-4o mini
GPT-4o mini lists leading MMLU among peer small models (82%) among its strengths; Hunyuan Hy4 does not.
First Hunyuan model with vision and computer use, adding image input to the text-only Hy4 Preview
Hunyuan Hy4
GPT-4o mini is comparatively weak here — weaker on hard reasoning and coding than frontier models
Tencent-reported gains over the preview of 19.1% on GameDev and 9.8% on GameLogic
Hunyuan Hy4
Tencent's November 4, 2026 full Hy4 release - a 1M-context model that adds vision and computer use at about $0.90/$2.70, with weights promised but not yet public — and it carries the larger 1M tokens context.
Tencent-reported financial evaluation of 3.04, ahead of DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 at 2.97
Hunyuan Hy4
Tencent's November 4, 2026 full Hy4 release - a 1M-context model that adds vision and computer use at about $0.90/$2.70, with weights promised but not yet public — and it is the newer of the two.
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
Hunyuan Hy4
Its 1M tokens window is about 8.2× larger than GPT-4o mini's 128K, fitting roughly 1,573 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 Hunyuan Hy4, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Hunyuan Hy4
Larger 1M tokens 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 first hunyuan model with vision and computer use, adding image input to the text-only hy4 preview
→ Hunyuan Hy4
That is its strongest area.
An enterprise with regional data-residency rules
→ GPT-4o mini or Hunyuan Hy4
Origin (US vs China) affects where data is processed and which compliance regime applies — check the provider's terms for your region.
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.
Hunyuan Hy4: where it fits
Tencent's November 4, 2026 full Hy4 release - a 1M-context model that adds vision and computer use at about $0.90/$2.70, with weights promised but not yet public. Released November 4, 2026 by Tencent, it is built for first Hunyuan model with vision and computer use, adding image input to the text-only Hy4 Preview, tencent-reported gains over the preview of 19.1% on GameDev and 9.8% on GameLogic, tencent-reported financial evaluation of 3.04, ahead of DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 at 2.97, and about $0.90/$2.70 per million tokens, with 50% off on Tencent Cloud TokenHub through December 31, 2026 (OpenRouter lists $0.417/$1.25 with that discount).
Its trade-offs: weights not public as of November 5, 2026 - Tencent says weights and system cards will come in the coming days, and no license is announced yet, only the earlier Hy4 Preview is downloadable today (Apache 2.0), published improvements are Tencent's own and mostly relative to the preview, with no SWE-bench Verified figure, and sources differ on list price: Tencent says about $0.90/$2.70, while OpenRouter and Vals show $0.83/$2.50. At $0.9 in / $2.7 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
This is less "which is smarter" and more "which ecosystem fits." GPT-4o mini (US) and Hunyuan Hy4 (China) differ on pricing philosophy, data-residency, and tooling as much as on raw scores. GPT-4o mini is the cheaper option, which matters at volume. The pragmatic move is to run one real task through both and judge the outputs against your own constraints — including where your data is allowed to be processed.
Want both GPT-4o mini and Hunyuan Hy4 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 GPT-4o mini or Hunyuan Hy4 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 Hunyuan Hy4 leans toward first hunyuan model with vision and computer use, adding image input to the text-only hy4 preview, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-4o mini or Hunyuan Hy4?
GPT-4o mini is cheaper — $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens vs $0.9/$2.7 per 1M tokens, roughly 6× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Hunyuan Hy4 — 1M tokens vs 128K, about 8.2× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both GPT-4o mini and Hunyuan Hy4 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-4o mini, Hunyuan Hy4 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-4o mini or Hunyuan Hy4?
Hunyuan Hy4 — released November 4, 2026, about 28 months after GPT-4o 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.