OpenAI: GPT-5 Image Mini API Pricing
OpenAI: GPT-5 Image Mini costs $2.50 per 1M input tokens and $2.00 per 1M output tokens (cache reads: $0.250). Context window: 400K. Prices verified 2026-10-21 · source
Alternatives to consider
Cheapest openai model — 98% less per month
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Token economics
| Token type | Price | vs base input |
|---|---|---|
| Standard input | $2.50 | — |
| Cache read | $0.250 | −90% |
| Output | $2.00 | — |
| Web search tool | $10/1k searches | — |
Prompt caching stores repeated context server-side: reads cost far less, but writes carry a one-time premium.
Higher effort = deeper thinking = more reasoning tokens billed as output.
What would OpenAI: GPT-5 Image Mini cost you per month?
| Workload | Requests/mo | Avg tokens (in/out) | Est. monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light chatbot | 10,000 | 800 / 400 | $28.00 |
| Coding agent | 5,000 | 8,000 / 2,000 | $120.00 |
| RAG pipeline | 30,000 | 4,000 / 500 | $330.00 |
| Doc summarizer | 2,000 | 20,000 / 1,000 | $104.00 |
Estimates use list prices without prompt caching. Caching can cut input cost by up to 90% on repeated context.
About OpenAI: GPT-5 Image Mini
GPT-5 Image Mini combines OpenAI's advanced language capabilities, powered by [GPT-5 Mini](https://openrouter.ai/openai/gpt-5-mini), with GPT Image 1 Mini for efficient image generation. This natively multimodal model features superior instruction following, text...
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Frequently asked questions
How much does OpenAI: GPT-5 Image Mini cost?
OpenAI: GPT-5 Image Mini costs $2.50 per 1M input tokens and $2.00 per 1M output tokens; cached input tokens cost $0.250 per 1M. Verified 2026-10-21 — provider source.
What is the context window?
400K tokens, with up to 128K output tokens per response. That's roughly 500 pages of text in a single request.
Does it support prompt caching?
Yes — cached input is $0.250/1M, about 90% cheaper than standard input. Agents and RAG workloads with repeated context benefit most.
What's a cheaper alternative?
ScaleDown: Summarize saves about 99% on a typical workload with comparable quality.
Official resources
- OpenAI: GPT-5 Image Mini on OpenRouter — live endpoint, pricing source of record.
- Artificial Analysis leaderboard → — independent intelligence and performance rankings.
- OpenAI pricing → — first-party pricing and billing details.
- LMArena leaderboard → — independent human-preference rankings.
- Shred your current bill — paste a CSV and see if switching saves money.