GPT-4.1 Nano vs GPT-5 Nano
| Signal | GPT-4.1 Nano | Delta | GPT-5 Nano |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 83 | -17 | |
Benchmarks | 44 | -4 | |
Pricing | 100 | -- | |
Context window size | 86 | +6 | |
Recency | 50 | -21 | |
Output Capacity | 75 | -10 | |
| Overall Result | 1 wins | of 6 | 4 wins |
Score History
41.7
current score
GPT-5 Nano
right now
46.4
current score
GPT-4.1 Nano
OpenAI
GPT-5 Nano
OpenAI
GPT-5 Nano saves you $5.00/month
That's $60.00/year compared to GPT-4.1 Nano at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | GPT-4.1 Nano | GPT-5 Nano | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 42 | 46 | GPT-5 Nano |
| Rank | #171 | #169 | GPT-5 Nano |
| Quality Rank | #171 | #169 | GPT-5 Nano |
| Adoption Rank | #171 | #169 | GPT-5 Nano |
| Parameters | -- | -- | -- |
| Context Window | 1048K | 400K | GPT-4.1 Nano |
| Pricing | $0.10/$0.40/M | $0.05/$0.40/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 83 | 100 | GPT-5 Nano |
| Benchmarks | 44 | 48 | GPT-5 Nano |
| Pricing | 100 | 100 | GPT-4.1 Nano |
| Context window size | 86 | 80 | GPT-4.1 Nano |
| Recency | 50 | 71 | GPT-5 Nano |
| Output Capacity | 75 | 85 | GPT-5 Nano |
Our score (0-100) is driven by benchmark performance (90%) from Arena Elo ratings, MMLU, GPQA, HumanEval, SWE-bench, and 15+ standardized evaluations. Capabilities and context window serve as tiebreakers (10%). Learn more about our methodology.
Scores 42/100 (rank #171), placing it in the top 41% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 46/100 (rank #169), placing it in the top 42% of all 290 models tracked.
With only a 5-point gap, these models are in the same performance tier. The practical difference in output quality is minimal - your choice should depend on pricing, latency requirements, and specific feature needs.
Choose GPT-4.1 Nano when you need:
- Processing long documents or large codebases (1048K token context)
Choose GPT-5 Nano when you need:
- Step-by-step reasoning and chain-of-thought problem solving
GPT-5 Nano offers 10% better value per quality point. At 1M tokens/day, you'd spend $6.75/month with GPT-5 Nano vs $7.50/month with GPT-4.1 Nano - a $0.75 monthly difference.
Both models have comparable response speeds. For most applications, the latency difference is negligible.
When latency matters most: Interactive chatbots, IDE code completion, real-time translation, and user-facing applications where response time directly impacts experience. For batch processing, background summarization, or offline analysis, latency is less critical.
Code generation & review
Based on overall model capabilities and architecture for coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Suitable for user-facing chat with competitive response times. GPT-4.1 Nano also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (1048K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($0.40/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (46/100) correlates with better nuance, coherence, and style in long-form content
Image understanding & OCR
Supports vision input - can analyze screenshots, diagrams, photos, and scanned documents directly
GPT-5 Nano has a moderate advantage with a 4.699999999999996-point lead in composite score. It wins on more signal dimensions, but GPT-4.1 Nano has specific strengths that could make it the better choice for certain workflows.
By Use Case
Best for Quality
GPT-4.1 Nano
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
GPT-5 Nano
10% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
GPT-4.1 Nano
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
GPT-4.1 Nano
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
GPT-4.1 Nano
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by OpenAI
- Choose for Quality - Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
- Choose for Reliability - Higher uptime and faster response speeds
- Choose for Prototyping - Stronger community support and better developer experience
- Choose for Production - Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
| Capability | GPT-4.1 Nano | GPT-5 Nano |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input) | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Mode | ||
| Reasoningdiffers | ||
| Web Search | ||
| Image Output |
GPT-4.1 Nano
OpenAI
GPT-5 Nano
OpenAI
GPT-5 Nano saves you $0.0900/month
That's 14% cheaper than GPT-4.1 Nano at 1,000 tokens/request and 100 requests/day.
Assumes 60% input / 40% output token ratio per request. Actual costs may vary based on your usage pattern.
| Parameter | GPT-4.1 Nano | GPT-5 Nano |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 1.0M | 400K |
| Max Output Tokens | 32,768 | 128,000 |
| Open Source | No | No |
| Created | Apr 14, 2025 | Aug 7, 2025 |