Pick GPT-5.4 Mini for free for every chatgpt user or fast, low-cost general tasks. Pick Reka Flash 3.1 for a 21b-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists) or strong base for fine-tuning agentic tasks - notably improved coding since the original flash 3. Choose Reka Flash 3.1 if you need self-hosting or data privacy; GPT-5.4 Mini if you want a managed API.
GPT-5.4 Mini (OpenAI) and Reka Flash 3.1 (Reka AI) 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. Reka Flash 3.1 is reka AI's compact 21B open-weight reasoning model - small enough to run locally, from a team of DeepMind and Meta alumni. They diverge most on price, context window and open vs. closed weights — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences
Cost model: Reka Flash 3.1 ships open weights you can self-host (hardware cost only, no per-token fee), while GPT-5.4 Mini is API-metered at $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens. Your choice depends on whether you want zero marginal cost at the price of running infrastructure.
Context window: GPT-5.4 Mini holds 12× more — 400K (~600 pages) vs 32K (~49 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 9 months (released March 17, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
GPT-5.4 Mini
Reka Flash 3.1
Provider
OpenAI (US)
Reka AI (US)
Released
March 17, 2026
July 2025
Context window
400K (~600 pages)
32K (~49 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens
Open weight (self-host / free)
Open weight?
No — API only
Yes — self-hostable
Modalities
text, image, code
text, 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 carries the larger 400K context.
Fast, low-cost general tasks: GPT-5.4 Mini — OpenAI's free, fast workhorse — capable general AI with no subscription needed — and it is the newer of the two.
Subagent capabilities: GPT-5.4 Mini — GPT-5.4 Mini lists subagent capabilities among its strengths; Reka Flash 3.1 does not.
A 21B-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists): Reka Flash 3.1 — Open weights make this possible at all — GPT-5.4 Mini is API-only, so it cannot leave the vendor's servers.
Strong base for fine-tuning agentic tasks - notably improved coding since the original Flash 3: Reka Flash 3.1 — Reka AI's compact 21B open-weight reasoning model - small enough to run locally, from a team of DeepMind and Meta alumni — and its weights are open while GPT-5.4 Mini is API-only.
Fully open weights (Apache 2.0) from a frontier-caliber research team: Reka Flash 3.1 — Reka Flash 3.1 lists fully open weights (Apache 2.0) from a frontier-caliber research team among its strengths; GPT-5.4 Mini does not.
Lowest cost at scale: Reka Flash 3.1 — Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of GPT-5.4 Mini's $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input: GPT-5.4 Mini — Its 400K window is about 12× larger than Reka Flash 3.1's 32K, fitting roughly 600 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: Reka Flash 3.1 — 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: GPT-5.4 Mini — Larger 400K window fits more in one prompt.
A team with data-privacy or self-hosting needs: Reka Flash 3.1 — 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 a 21b-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists): Reka Flash 3.1 — 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.
Reka Flash 3.1: where it fits
Reka AI's compact 21B open-weight reasoning model - small enough to run locally, from a team of DeepMind and Meta alumni. Released July 2025 by Reka AI, it is built for a 21B-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists), strong base for fine-tuning agentic tasks - notably improved coding since the original Flash 3, fully open weights (Apache 2.0) from a frontier-caliber research team, and built by alumni from Google DeepMind and Meta's AI labs.
Its trade-offs: a relatively small 32K context window next to million-token frontier models, smaller and less capable overall than flagship frontier models from major labs, and reka's broader roadmap has shifted toward robotics/world models after merging with Moonvalley in June 2026, raising questions about ongoing LLM investment. 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. Reka Flash 3.1 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 Reka Flash 3.1 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 Reka Flash 3.1 leans toward a 21b-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists), and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-5.4 Mini or Reka Flash 3.1?
Reka Flash 3.1 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 $0.75/$4.5 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?
GPT-5.4 Mini — 400K vs 32K, about 12× 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 Reka Flash 3.1 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-5.4 Mini, Reka Flash 3.1 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 Reka Flash 3.1?
GPT-5.4 Mini — released March 17, 2026, about 9 months after Reka Flash 3.1.
GPT-5.4 Mini vs Reka Flash 3.1
OpenAI · US | Reka AI · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick GPT-5.4 Mini for free for every chatgpt user or fast, low-cost general tasks. Pick Reka Flash 3.1 for a 21b-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists) or strong base for fine-tuning agentic tasks - notably improved coding since the original flash 3. Choose Reka Flash 3.1 if you need self-hosting or data privacy; GPT-5.4 Mini if you want a managed API.
GPT-5.4 Mini (OpenAI) and Reka Flash 3.1 (Reka AI) 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. Reka Flash 3.1 is reka AI's compact 21B open-weight reasoning model - small enough to run locally, from a team of DeepMind and Meta alumni. 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: Reka Flash 3.1 ships open weights you can self-host (hardware cost only, no per-token fee), while GPT-5.4 Mini is API-metered at $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens. Your choice depends on whether you want zero marginal cost at the price of running infrastructure.
▸Context window: GPT-5.4 Mini holds 12× more — 400K (~600 pages) vs 32K (~49 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 9 months (released March 17, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
GPT-5.4 Mini
Reka Flash 3.1
Provider
OpenAI (US)
Reka AI (US)
Released
March 17, 2026
July 2025
Context window
400K (~600 pages)
32K (~49 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens
Open weight (self-host / free)
Open weight?
No — API only
Yes — self-hostable
Modalities
text, image, code
text, 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 carries the larger 400K context.
Fast, low-cost general tasks
GPT-5.4 Mini
OpenAI's free, fast workhorse — capable general AI with no subscription needed — and it is the newer of the two.
Subagent capabilities
GPT-5.4 Mini
GPT-5.4 Mini lists subagent capabilities among its strengths; Reka Flash 3.1 does not.
A 21B-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists)
Reka Flash 3.1
Open weights make this possible at all — GPT-5.4 Mini is API-only, so it cannot leave the vendor's servers.
Strong base for fine-tuning agentic tasks - notably improved coding since the original Flash 3
Reka Flash 3.1
Reka AI's compact 21B open-weight reasoning model - small enough to run locally, from a team of DeepMind and Meta alumni — and its weights are open while GPT-5.4 Mini is API-only.
Fully open weights (Apache 2.0) from a frontier-caliber research team
Reka Flash 3.1
Reka Flash 3.1 lists fully open weights (Apache 2.0) from a frontier-caliber research team among its strengths; GPT-5.4 Mini does not.
Lowest cost at scale
Reka Flash 3.1
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of GPT-5.4 Mini's $0.75/$4.5 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input
GPT-5.4 Mini
Its 400K window is about 12× larger than Reka Flash 3.1's 32K, fitting roughly 600 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Reka Flash 3.1
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
→ GPT-5.4 Mini
Larger 400K window fits more in one prompt.
A team with data-privacy or self-hosting needs
→ Reka Flash 3.1
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 a 21b-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists)
→ Reka Flash 3.1
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.
Reka Flash 3.1: where it fits
Reka AI's compact 21B open-weight reasoning model - small enough to run locally, from a team of DeepMind and Meta alumni. Released July 2025 by Reka AI, it is built for a 21B-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists), strong base for fine-tuning agentic tasks - notably improved coding since the original Flash 3, fully open weights (Apache 2.0) from a frontier-caliber research team, and built by alumni from Google DeepMind and Meta's AI labs.
Its trade-offs: a relatively small 32K context window next to million-token frontier models, smaller and less capable overall than flagship frontier models from major labs, and reka's broader roadmap has shifted toward robotics/world models after merging with Moonvalley in June 2026, raising questions about ongoing LLM investment. 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. Reka Flash 3.1 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 Reka Flash 3.1 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 Reka Flash 3.1 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 Reka Flash 3.1 leans toward a 21b-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists), and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-5.4 Mini or Reka Flash 3.1?
Reka Flash 3.1 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 $0.75/$4.5 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?
GPT-5.4 Mini — 400K vs 32K, about 12× 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 Reka Flash 3.1 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-5.4 Mini, Reka Flash 3.1 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 Reka Flash 3.1?
GPT-5.4 Mini — released March 17, 2026, about 9 months after Reka Flash 3.1.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.