GPT-5 mini (High) vs Solar Mini 4
Which is better for the money: GPT-5 mini (High) by OpenAI or Solar Mini 4 by Upstage? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-25.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
Solar Mini 4 scores 7.3 points higher (24.1 vs 16.8) but costs 2.7× as much to run the benchmark ($502 vs $189; premium vs mid-range cost classes). Pick Solar Mini 4 when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise GPT-5 mini (High).
| Metric | GPT-5 mini (High) | Solar Mini 4 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 16.8 | 24.1 | +43.5% Solar Mini 4 is 43.5% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $188.66 | $502.02 | +166.1% Solar Mini 4 is 2.7× more expensive |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 58.72s | 27.46s | −53.2% Solar Mini 4 is 53.2% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.25 / $2.00 | $0.10 / $0.40 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
Solar Mini 4 vs GPT-5 mini (High): 43.5% more intelligence, 166.1% more cost to run the AA benchmark, and 53.2% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-5 mini (High) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Claude Haiku 5.5 (Xhigh) scores 41.20 for $158.
- Solar Mini 4 is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Medium) scores 47.80 for $361.
GPT-5 mini (High)Solar Mini 4Today's Pareto frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-mini/solar-mini4 · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-mini/solar-mini4?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill