# GPT-6 Astra vs o4-mini

GPT-6 Astra is one of OpenAI's newest models and o4-mini an earlier one, so this is also what moving up costs or saves. o4-mini is the cheaper of the 2: for the same tokens, 3 read for each 1 written, GPT-6 Astra costs 10 times as much. Below are both price lists, what 8 everyday jobs cost a month on each, and how many tokens the same text takes on each, which can change the answer.

- Page, with a calculator for your own job: https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-6-astra-vs-o4-mini
- Makers: GPT-6 Astra from OpenAI, o4-mini from OpenAI

## Price per million tokens, in US dollars

| | GPT-6 Astra | o4-mini |
| --- | --: | --: |
| Input | $10 | $1.10 |
| Cached input | $1 | $0.275 |
| Cache write | $12.50 | not listed |
| Output | $50 | $4.40 |
| Blend, 3 read for each 1 written | $20 | $1.925 |
| Batch input | $5 | $0.55 |
| Batch output | $25 | $2.20 |
| Long prompt input (above 272K on GPT-6 Astra) | $20 | $1.10 |
| Long prompt output | $75 | $4.40 |
| Context window, tokens | 1.05M | 200K |
| Capability score (Epoch Capabilities Index; GPT-5 is 150) | 166 | 146 |
| Longest answer, tokens | 128K | 100K |

## What 8 everyday jobs cost a month on each

Each job at its usual runs a day, for 30 days, at the standard price.

| Job | Tokens in, out, runs a day | GPT-6 Astra | o4-mini |
| --- | --- | --: | --: |
| A chat question | 300, 500, 100 | $84.00 | $7.59 |
| A hard question, with thinking | 300, 1,400, 100 | $219 | $19.47 |
| A long report, summarised | 60,000, 2,000, 20 | $420 | $44.88 |
| A 40-turn agent task | 2,800,000, 40,000, 10 | $2,196 | $353 |
| A support bot's reply | 4,000, 300, 2,000 | $2,220 | $244 |
| Sort a message into a category | 250, 5, 50,000 | $4,125 | $446 |
| Read an invoice into fields | 1,500, 250, 1,000 | $825 | $82.50 |
| Review a pull request | 25,000, 4,500, 50 | $713 | $70.95 |

## Questions

### Which is cheaper, GPT-6 Astra or o4-mini?

o4-mini is cheaper: $1.10 per million tokens read and $4.40 per million written, against $10 and $50 on GPT-6 Astra. On a mix of 3 tokens read for each 1 written, GPT-6 Astra costs 10 times as much.

### Which is better, GPT-6 Astra or o4-mini?

On the Epoch Capabilities Index, an independent score from Epoch AI that combines over 50 benchmarks, GPT-6 Astra scores 166 and o4-mini 146, above the top of the range of doubt around o4-mini's score (GPT-5 is 150). One score is an average; test both on your own work before you switch.

### What does a support bot cost a month on GPT-6 Astra and o4-mini?

At 2,000 replies a day, each reading 4,000 tokens (50 percent of them from cache) and writing 300, it costs $2,220 a month on GPT-6 Astra and $244 on o4-mini: GPT-6 Astra costs 9.1 times as much for this job.

### What does an AI agent task cost on GPT-6 Astra and o4-mini?

One 40-turn task that reads 2,800,000 tokens in all, 90 percent of them from cache, and writes 40,000, costs $7.32 on GPT-6 Astra and $1.18 on o4-mini. At 10 tasks a day that is $2,196 and $353 a month.

### Which has the larger context window, GPT-6 Astra or o4-mini?

GPT-6 Astra, with 1.05M tokens against 200K on o4-mini. The window holds your instructions, the files you attach, the conversation so far and the answer, all at once.

### Does the same text take the same number of tokens on GPT-6 Astra and o4-mini?

Yes, both are counted the same way: our lesson "How AI writes", 1,700 words long, is about 2,100 tokens on each.

### Is it cheaper to move from o4-mini to GPT-6 Astra?

No, it costs more per token: GPT-6 Astra charges $10 per million tokens read and $50 written, against $1.10 and $4.40 on o4-mini, 10 times as much for the same tokens. It pays off only if better answers save more than that, for example in fewer retries.

### Can I pay less on GPT-6 Astra and o4-mini for work that can wait?

Yes, on both. With a batch, where you collect the answers later instead of at once, GPT-6 Astra costs $5 per million tokens read and $25 written, and o4-mini $0.55 and $2.20.

## Sources

- [OpenAI: API prices](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing)
- [Epoch Capabilities Index, by Epoch AI (CC BY 4.0)](https://epoch.ai/benchmarks/eci)

## Other comparisons

- [GPT-6 Astra vs GPT-6 Sol](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-6-astra-vs-gpt-6-sol.md)
- [GPT-5.6 Sol vs GPT-6 Astra](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-5-6-sol-vs-gpt-6-astra.md)
- [GPT-5.6 Terra vs GPT-6 Astra](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-5-6-terra-vs-gpt-6-astra.md)
- [GPT-5.6 Luna vs GPT-6 Astra](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-5-6-luna-vs-gpt-6-astra.md)
- [GPT-5.5 vs GPT-6 Astra](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-5-5-vs-gpt-6-astra.md)
- [GPT-5.5 pro vs GPT-6 Astra](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-5-5-pro-vs-gpt-6-astra.md)