API Pricing
GPT-4o Pricing 2026:
Legacy Reference & GPT-5.4 Successor Guide
GPT-4o historical pricing and comparison with the current GPT-5.4 family. For new applications in 2026, GPT-5.4 nano replaces GPT-4o mini, and GPT-5.4 replaces GPT-4o — with better quality and 1M context window. Last verified: 2026-04-01.
10 min read·Updated April 2026
Important: GPT-4o and GPT-4o mini remain available but have been superseded by the GPT-5.4 family for new development. GPT-5.4 ($2.50/M input) matches GPT-4o on input price but with 1M context and better quality. GPT-5.4 nano ($0.20/M) is a step up from GPT-4o mini in quality at only 33% more on input cost.
GPT-4o vs GPT-5.4 Comparison
$2.50
per 1M input tokens
$10.00
per 1M output tokens
$0.15/$0.60
GPT-4o mini in/out per 1M
128K
context window
GPT-4o Model Pricing 2026
| Model | Input (per 1M tokens) | Output (per 1M tokens) | Cached Input |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o | $2.50 | $10.00 | $1.25 |
| GPT-4o mini | $0.15 | $0.60 | $0.075 |
| o1 | $15.00 | $60.00 | $7.50 |
| o1-mini | $1.10 | $4.40 | $0.55 |
| o3-mini | $1.10 | $4.40 | $0.55 |
| GPT-4 Turbo | $10.00 | $30.00 | N/A |
GPT-4o vs GPT-4o mini: When to Use Each
GPT-4o mini is 17× cheaper on input and 17× cheaper on output. For many tasks, the quality difference is minimal:
| Use Case | Recommended Model | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Q&A, FAQs, classification | GPT-4o mini | Handles basic tasks perfectly at 17× lower cost |
| Customer support chatbot | GPT-4o mini | Most support tickets are simple |
| Complex reasoning, analysis | GPT-4o | Noticeably better at multi-step problems |
| Code generation (simple) | GPT-4o mini | Good enough for boilerplate, CRUD operations |
| Code generation (complex) | GPT-4o | Better for architecture decisions, debugging |
| Document summarization | GPT-4o mini | Long-context tasks where output is short |
| Creative writing, marketing copy | GPT-4o | Noticeably more creative and nuanced |
Real-World GPT-4o Cost Examples
Customer Support Bot (10,000 conversations/month)
- Average conversation: 500 tokens input + 300 tokens output = 800 tokens
- 10,000 conversations = 8M tokens total
- GPT-4o: (5M × $2.50 + 3M × $10) / 1,000 = $12.50 + $30 = $42.50/month
- GPT-4o mini: (5M × $0.15 + 3M × $0.60) / 1,000 = $0.75 + $1.80 = $2.55/month
Document Analysis App (1,000 documents/month)
- Average document: 3,000 tokens input + 500 tokens output
- GPT-4o: (3M × $2.50 + 0.5M × $10) / 1,000 = $7.50 + $5 = $12.50/month
- GPT-4o mini: = $0.75/month
Code Assistant (100 developers, 50 requests/day each)
- 150,000 requests/month × (200 input + 200 output tokens) = 60M tokens
- GPT-4o: 30M × $2.50 + 30M × $10 = $75 + $300 = $375/month
GPT-4o Cost Optimization Tips
- Use Prompt Caching: Repeated system prompts are cached at $1.25/M instead of $2.50/M — 50% savings on the system prompt portion
- Batch API: Non-urgent tasks processed asynchronously at 50% discount (48-hour window)
- Model routing: Use GPT-4o mini for 80% of requests, GPT-4o only when needed — saves 85%+
- Limit max_tokens: Set an appropriate ceiling to prevent runaway responses
- Compress prompts: Remove unnecessary whitespace, shorten system prompts
- Stream smartly: Streaming doesn't change costs but improves perceived performance
GPT-4o Batch API Pricing (50% Discount)
For non-real-time workloads processed within 24 hours:
- GPT-4o input: $1.25/M tokens (vs $2.50 standard)
- GPT-4o output: $5.00/M tokens (vs $10.00 standard)
- GPT-4o mini input: $0.075/M tokens (vs $0.15 standard)
Ideal for: bulk document processing, offline analysis pipelines, nightly batch jobs.
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