GPT-5 Mini alternatives
Match · Updated July 2026
The closest alternative to GPT-5 Mini is Claude Opus 4 — comparable intelligence (25.5 vs 25.3); for a cheaper option, MiniMax M3 (batch) runs $0.150/M vs $0.250/M; and the best open-weight substitute is Kimi K3.
Closest match
Cheaper alternatives
minimax-m3:batch
$0.150/M input · 44.4 intel
hy3
$0.132/M input · 41.2 intel
deepseek-v4-flash
$0.140/M input · 40.3 intel
gpt-5.4-nano
$0.200/M input · 38.2 intel
gpt-5.4-nano:batch
$0.100/M input · 38.2 intel
mimo-v2.5
$0.140/M input · 37.2 intel
Smarter alternatives
Open-source alternatives
kimi-k3
57.1 intel · open weights · 1.0M ctx
glm-5.2
51.1 intel · open weights · 1.0M ctx
minimax-m3
44.4 intel · open weights · 1.0M ctx
minimax-m3:batch
44.4 intel · open weights · 524K ctx
deepseek-v4-pro
44.3 intel · open weights · 1.0M ctx
kimi-k2.6
44.2 intel · open weights · 262K ctx
Frequently asked
What is the best alternative to GPT-5 Mini?
Claude Opus 4 is the closest alternative to GPT-5 Mini, with an Intelligence Index of 25.5 (GPT-5 Mini scores 25.3) at $15.00 per million input tokens.
Is there a cheaper alternative to GPT-5 Mini?
Yes — MiniMax M3 (batch) costs $0.150 per million input tokens versus $0.250 for GPT-5 Mini, while staying within ~8 points of its Intelligence Index.
Is there an open-source alternative to GPT-5 Mini?
Kimi K3 is the strongest open-weight alternative to GPT-5 Mini — downloadable from Hugging Face and self-hostable, scoring 57.1 on intelligence.