o1 vs o4-mini Deep Research

Compare OpenAI and OpenAI AI models

OpenAI

o4-mini Deep Research

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Cost Comparison (1000 input + 500 output tokens, 100 requests/day)

o1

Per Request:$0.045

Daily:$4.50

Monthly:$135.00

Yearly:$1,642.50

o4-mini Deep Research

Per Request:$0.006000

Daily:$0.60

Monthly:$18.00

Yearly:$219.00

Cost Differences

$0.039

Per Request

$3.90

Daily

$117.00

Monthly

$1,423.50

Yearly

o4-mini Deep Research costs less than o1

Feature Comparison

Feature	o1	o4-mini Deep Research
Provider	OpenAI	OpenAI
Input Price	$15.00/1M tokens	$2.00/1M tokens
Output Price	$60.00/1M tokens	$8.00/1M tokens
Context Window	200,000 tokens	200,000 tokens
Max Output	65,536 tokens	32,768 tokens
Category	reasoning	reasoning
Capabilities	textreasoning	textreasoningcode
Release Date	9/12/2024	6/26/2025

o1 vs o4-mini Deep Research: Which Should You Choose?

Choosing between o1 and o4-mini Deep Research depends on your priorities: cost efficiency, context length, or raw capability. o4-mini Deep Research is the more affordable option at $2.00/1M input tokens — 87% cheaper than o1.

Both models are in the reasoning category, making this a direct head-to-head comparison. At scale — say 10,000 requests per day — the cost difference adds up: o4-mini Deep Research would save you roughly $11,700.00/month compared to o1. For startups and indie developers, that difference can be significant.

Output costs matter too. o1 charges $60.00/1M output tokens vs $8.00 for o4-mini Deep Research. For generation-heavy workloads (content creation, code generation, summarization), output pricing often dominates your bill. o4-mini Deep Research has the edge here at $8.00/1M output tokens.

Best Use Cases

Choose o1 when:

• You need longer outputs (up to 65,536 tokens)
• You're already using OpenAI's API ecosystem

Choose o4-mini Deep Research when:

• Budget is a primary concern
• You need more capabilities (code)
• You're already using OpenAI's API ecosystem

Try Different Scenarios

Use the calculator below to see how costs change with different usage patterns

o1 (OpenAI)

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o4-mini Deep Research (OpenAI)

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper, o1 or o4-mini Deep Research?▼

o4-mini Deep Research is cheaper for input tokens at $2.00 per million tokens vs $15.00 for o1 — that's 87% savings on input costs.

What is the context window difference between o1 and o4-mini Deep Research?▼

o1 supports 200,000 tokens while o4-mini Deep Research supports 200,000 tokens — a difference of 0 tokens in favor of o1.

Which model is better for AI Chatbot?▼

Both models support text. For ai chatbot, o4-mini Deep Research is the lower-cost option, while o1 offers a larger context window (200,000 vs 200,000 tokens). Choose o4-mini Deep Research for budget sensitivity or o1 for longer context tasks.

Which model has better overall pricing for heavy usage?▼

At 100 requests/day with 1,000 input and 500 output tokens each, o1 costs about $135.00/month and o4-mini Deep Research costs about $18.00/month. Overall, o4-mini Deep Research has lower combined input + output rates ($2.00 in, $8.00 out) vs o1.