Pick GPT-5.4 Mini for free for every chatgpt user or fast, low-cost general tasks. Pick Llama 4 Maverick for open weights, 1m context or strong image + text understanding. Choose Llama 4 Maverick if you need self-hosting or data privacy; GPT-5.4 Mini if you want a managed API.
GPT-5.4 Mini (OpenAI) and Llama 4 Maverick (Meta) 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. Llama 4 Maverick is meta's open-weight 1M-context multimodal model for self-hosted deployments. They diverge most on price, context window and open vs. closed weights — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences
Cost model: Llama 4 Maverick ships open weights you can self-host (hardware cost only, no per-token fee), while GPT-5.4 Mini is API-metered at $0.25/$2 per 1M tokens. Your choice depends on whether you want zero marginal cost at the price of running infrastructure.
Context window: Llama 4 Maverick holds 2.5× more — 1M (~1,500 pages) vs 400K (~600 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 12 months (released March 18, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
GPT-5.4 Mini
Llama 4 Maverick
Provider
OpenAI (US)
Meta (US)
Released
March 18, 2026
April 2025
Context window
400K (~600 pages)
1M (~1,500 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.25/$2 per 1M tokens
Open weight (self-host / free)
Open weight?
No — API only
Yes — self-hostable
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 — A core design strength of GPT-5.4 Mini.
Fast, low-cost general tasks: GPT-5.4 Mini — A core design strength of GPT-5.4 Mini.
Subagent capabilities: GPT-5.4 Mini — A core design strength of GPT-5.4 Mini.
Open weights, 1M context: Llama 4 Maverick — A core design strength of Llama 4 Maverick.
Strong image + text understanding: Llama 4 Maverick — A core design strength of Llama 4 Maverick.
Self-hostable: Llama 4 Maverick — A core design strength of Llama 4 Maverick.
Lowest cost at scale: Llama 4 Maverick — At Open weight (self-host / free), it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input: Llama 4 Maverick — Its 1M window is about 2.5× larger, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: Llama 4 Maverick — At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts GPT-5.4 Mini, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases: Llama 4 Maverick — Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
A team with data-privacy or self-hosting needs: Llama 4 Maverick — Open weights let you run it on your own hardware; GPT-5.4 Mini is API-only.
Anyone whose priority is free for every chatgpt user: GPT-5.4 Mini — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is open weights, 1m context: Llama 4 Maverick — 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 18, 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 $0.25 in / $2 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
Llama 4 Maverick: where it fits
Meta's open-weight 1M-context multimodal model for self-hosted deployments. Released April 2025 by Meta, it is built for open weights, 1M context, strong image + text understanding, self-hostable, and 400B MoE, 17B active.
Its trade-offs: needs serious hardware to self-host, and trails closed frontier on reasoning. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
The bottom line for this matchup
The defining split here is open vs. closed. Llama 4 Maverick gives you weights you control — self-host it, fine-tune it, keep data in-house, pay only for hardware. GPT-5.4 Mini gives you a managed, always-updated API with no infrastructure to run. Teams with GPUs, privacy requirements, or huge volume often favour the open model; teams that want zero ops and the latest capabilities favour the closed one. Capability is close enough that this operational question, not the benchmark, usually decides it.
Frequently asked questions
Is GPT-5.4 Mini or Llama 4 Maverick 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 Llama 4 Maverick leans toward open weights, 1m context, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-5.4 Mini or Llama 4 Maverick?
Llama 4 Maverick is open-weight, so self-hosting means no per-token fee (you pay for hardware instead), while GPT-5.4 Mini is API-metered at $0.25/$2 per 1M tokens. For most teams without GPUs, the API model is cheaper to start; at very high volume, self-hosting can win.
Which has the bigger context window?
Llama 4 Maverick — 1M vs 400K, about 2.5× 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 Llama 4 Maverick together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-5.4 Mini, Llama 4 Maverick 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 Llama 4 Maverick?
GPT-5.4 Mini — released March 18, 2026, about 12 months after Llama 4 Maverick.
GPT-5.4 Mini vs Llama 4 Maverick
OpenAI · US | Meta · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick GPT-5.4 Mini for free for every chatgpt user or fast, low-cost general tasks. Pick Llama 4 Maverick for open weights, 1m context or strong image + text understanding. Choose Llama 4 Maverick if you need self-hosting or data privacy; GPT-5.4 Mini if you want a managed API.
GPT-5.4 Mini (OpenAI) and Llama 4 Maverick (Meta) 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. Llama 4 Maverick is meta's open-weight 1M-context multimodal model for self-hosted deployments. They diverge most on price, context window and open vs. closed weights — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
▸Cost model: Llama 4 Maverick ships open weights you can self-host (hardware cost only, no per-token fee), while GPT-5.4 Mini is API-metered at $0.25/$2 per 1M tokens. Your choice depends on whether you want zero marginal cost at the price of running infrastructure.
▸Context window: Llama 4 Maverick holds 2.5× more — 1M (~1,500 pages) vs 400K (~600 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 12 months (released March 18, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
GPT-5.4 Mini
Llama 4 Maverick
Provider
OpenAI (US)
Meta (US)
Released
March 18, 2026
April 2025
Context window
400K (~600 pages)
1M (~1,500 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.25/$2 per 1M tokens
Open weight (self-host / free)
Open weight?
No — API only
Yes — self-hostable
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
A core design strength of GPT-5.4 Mini.
Fast, low-cost general tasks
GPT-5.4 Mini
A core design strength of GPT-5.4 Mini.
Subagent capabilities
GPT-5.4 Mini
A core design strength of GPT-5.4 Mini.
Open weights, 1M context
Llama 4 Maverick
A core design strength of Llama 4 Maverick.
Strong image + text understanding
Llama 4 Maverick
A core design strength of Llama 4 Maverick.
Self-hostable
Llama 4 Maverick
A core design strength of Llama 4 Maverick.
Lowest cost at scale
Llama 4 Maverick
At Open weight (self-host / free), it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input
Llama 4 Maverick
Its 1M window is about 2.5× larger, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Llama 4 Maverick
At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts GPT-5.4 Mini, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Llama 4 Maverick
Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
A team with data-privacy or self-hosting needs
→ Llama 4 Maverick
Open weights let you run it on your own hardware; GPT-5.4 Mini is API-only.
Anyone whose priority is free for every chatgpt user
→ GPT-5.4 Mini
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is open weights, 1m context
→ Llama 4 Maverick
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 18, 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 $0.25 in / $2 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
Llama 4 Maverick: where it fits
Meta's open-weight 1M-context multimodal model for self-hosted deployments. Released April 2025 by Meta, it is built for open weights, 1M context, strong image + text understanding, self-hostable, and 400B MoE, 17B active.
Its trade-offs: needs serious hardware to self-host, and trails closed frontier on reasoning. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
The bottom line for this matchup
The defining split here is open vs. closed. Llama 4 Maverick gives you weights you control — self-host it, fine-tune it, keep data in-house, pay only for hardware. GPT-5.4 Mini gives you a managed, always-updated API with no infrastructure to run. Teams with GPUs, privacy requirements, or huge volume often favour the open model; teams that want zero ops and the latest capabilities favour the closed one. Capability is close enough that this operational question, not the benchmark, usually decides it.
Want both GPT-5.4 Mini and Llama 4 Maverick 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.
Is GPT-5.4 Mini or Llama 4 Maverick 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 Llama 4 Maverick leans toward open weights, 1m context, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-5.4 Mini or Llama 4 Maverick?
Llama 4 Maverick is open-weight, so self-hosting means no per-token fee (you pay for hardware instead), while GPT-5.4 Mini is API-metered at $0.25/$2 per 1M tokens. For most teams without GPUs, the API model is cheaper to start; at very high volume, self-hosting can win.
Which has the bigger context window?
Llama 4 Maverick — 1M vs 400K, about 2.5× 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 Llama 4 Maverick together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-5.4 Mini, Llama 4 Maverick 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 Llama 4 Maverick?
GPT-5.4 Mini — released March 18, 2026, about 12 months after Llama 4 Maverick.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.