Pick GPT-5.4 Mini for free for every chatgpt user or fast, low-cost general tasks. Pick Grok 4 for 256k context with native tool use or real-time data via x integration. On a tight budget at scale, GPT-5.4 Mini is the value pick.
GPT-5.4 Mini (OpenAI) and Grok 4 (xAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. GPT-5.4 Mini is openAI's free, fast workhorse — capable general AI with no subscription needed. Grok 4 is xAI's 2M-context model with live data access and strong reasoning chops. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences
Price: GPT-5.4 Mini is about 4× cheaper on input ($0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens vs $3/$15 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
Context window: GPT-5.4 Mini holds 1.6× more — 400K (~600 pages) vs 256K (~384 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-5.4 Mini is the newer model by about 8 months (released March 17, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
GPT-5.4 Mini
Grok 4
Provider
OpenAI (US)
xAI (US)
Released
March 17, 2026
July 9, 2025
Context window
400K (~600 pages)
256K (~384 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens
$3/$15 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, image, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
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 Grok 4 ($3/$15 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Subagent capabilities: GPT-5.4 Mini — OpenAI's free, fast workhorse — capable general AI with no subscription needed — and it carries the larger 400K context.
256K context with native tool use: Grok 4 — GPT-5.4 Mini is comparatively weak here — smaller context than flagship models
Real-time data via X integration: Grok 4 — Grok 4 lists real-time data via X integration among its strengths; GPT-5.4 Mini does not.
Strong academic reasoning: Grok 4 — GPT-5.4 Mini is comparatively weak here — not for the hardest reasoning
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: GPT-5.4 Mini — Its 400K window is about 1.6× larger than Grok 4's 256K, fitting roughly 600 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 Grok 4, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases: GPT-5.4 Mini — Larger 400K window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is free for every chatgpt user: GPT-5.4 Mini — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is 256k context with native tool use: Grok 4 — That is its strongest area.
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 are real: 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.
Grok 4: where it fits
XAI's 2M-context model with live data access and strong reasoning chops. Released July 9, 2025 by xAI, it is built for 256K context with native tool use, real-time data via X integration, strong academic reasoning, and no long-context surcharge.
Its trade-offs: smaller ecosystem than OpenAI/Google, and less independent benchmark coverage. At $3 in / $15 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
GPT-5.4 Mini and Grok 4 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. GPT-5.4 Mini costs less per token; GPT-5.4 Mini holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — GPT-5.4 Mini for free for every chatgpt user, Grok 4 for 256k context with native tool use. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is GPT-5.4 Mini or Grok 4 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-5.4 Mini leans toward free for every chatgpt user while Grok 4 leans toward 256k context with native tool use, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-5.4 Mini or Grok 4?
GPT-5.4 Mini is cheaper — $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens vs $3/$15 per 1M tokens, roughly 4× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
GPT-5.4 Mini — 400K vs 256K, about 1.6× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both GPT-5.4 Mini and Grok 4 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-5.4 Mini, Grok 4 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-5.4 Mini or Grok 4?
GPT-5.4 Mini — released March 17, 2026, about 8 months after Grok 4.
GPT-5.4 Mini vs Grok 4
OpenAI · US | xAI · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick GPT-5.4 Mini for free for every chatgpt user or fast, low-cost general tasks. Pick Grok 4 for 256k context with native tool use or real-time data via x integration. On a tight budget at scale, GPT-5.4 Mini is the value pick.
GPT-5.4 Mini (OpenAI) and Grok 4 (xAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. GPT-5.4 Mini is openAI's free, fast workhorse — capable general AI with no subscription needed. Grok 4 is xAI's 2M-context model with live data access and strong reasoning chops. 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 4× cheaper on input ($0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens vs $3/$15 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
▸Context window: GPT-5.4 Mini holds 1.6× more — 400K (~600 pages) vs 256K (~384 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-5.4 Mini is the newer model by about 8 months (released March 17, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
GPT-5.4 Mini
Grok 4
Provider
OpenAI (US)
xAI (US)
Released
March 17, 2026
July 9, 2025
Context window
400K (~600 pages)
256K (~384 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens
$3/$15 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, image, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
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 Grok 4 ($3/$15 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Subagent capabilities
GPT-5.4 Mini
OpenAI's free, fast workhorse — capable general AI with no subscription needed — and it carries the larger 400K context.
256K context with native tool use
Grok 4
GPT-5.4 Mini is comparatively weak here — smaller context than flagship models
Real-time data via X integration
Grok 4
Grok 4 lists real-time data via X integration among its strengths; GPT-5.4 Mini does not.
Strong academic reasoning
Grok 4
GPT-5.4 Mini is comparatively weak here — not for the hardest reasoning
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
GPT-5.4 Mini
Its 400K window is about 1.6× larger than Grok 4's 256K, fitting roughly 600 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 Grok 4, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ GPT-5.4 Mini
Larger 400K window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is free for every chatgpt user
→ GPT-5.4 Mini
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is 256k context with native tool use
→ Grok 4
That is its strongest area.
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 are real: 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.
Grok 4: where it fits
XAI's 2M-context model with live data access and strong reasoning chops. Released July 9, 2025 by xAI, it is built for 256K context with native tool use, real-time data via X integration, strong academic reasoning, and no long-context surcharge.
Its trade-offs: smaller ecosystem than OpenAI/Google, and less independent benchmark coverage. At $3 in / $15 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
GPT-5.4 Mini and Grok 4 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. GPT-5.4 Mini costs less per token; GPT-5.4 Mini holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — GPT-5.4 Mini for free for every chatgpt user, Grok 4 for 256k context with native tool use. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both GPT-5.4 Mini and Grok 4 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-5.4 Mini leans toward free for every chatgpt user while Grok 4 leans toward 256k context with native tool use, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-5.4 Mini or Grok 4?
GPT-5.4 Mini is cheaper — $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens vs $3/$15 per 1M tokens, roughly 4× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
GPT-5.4 Mini — 400K vs 256K, about 1.6× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both GPT-5.4 Mini and Grok 4 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-5.4 Mini, Grok 4 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-5.4 Mini or Grok 4?
GPT-5.4 Mini — released March 17, 2026, about 8 months after Grok 4.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.