OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) vs OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch)
Based on weekly OpenRouter usage tracked by AI Tier List, OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) ranks #3 overall — ahead of OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) at #44. OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) is cheaper on input tokens at $0.10/1M vs $0.13/1M for OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch). OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) offers the larger context window at 1.1M tokens.
OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) vs OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch): which should you use?
Choose OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) if…
On every published figure — price, context, benchmarks — it does not come out ahead of OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch).
Choose OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) if…
- It sees more real traffic — #3 overall on OpenRouter's weekly ranking, against #44 for OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch).
- Cheaper to read — $0.10 vs $0.13 per 1M input tokens, which is what dominates long-prompt and RAG workloads.
- Cheaper to write — $0.60 vs $1 per 1M output tokens, the line item that decides generation-heavy costs.
- Bigger context window — 1.1M vs 400K tokens.
- It is the newer model — released Jul 2026 against Aug 2025.
Spec Comparison
| Spec | OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) | OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) |
|---|---|---|
| Author | openai | openai |
| Input price (per 1M tokens) | $0.13 | $0.10 |
| Output price (per 1M tokens) | $1 | $0.60 |
| Context window | 400K | 1.1M |
| Input modalities | text, image, file | file, image, text |
| Output modalities | text | text |
| AA Intelligence | — | — |
| AA Coding | — | — |
| AA Agentic | — | — |
| Released | Aug 2025 | Jul 2026 |
What OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) and OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) actually cost to run
On a read-heavy job — 1M tokens in, 100K out — OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) costs $0.23 and OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) costs $0.16.
Flip the shape — 100K in, 1M out — and it becomes $1.01 for OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) versus $0.61 for OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch).
Both figures are the published per-token rates multiplied out; caching and batch discounts are not included.
Usage Rank by Task
| Task | OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) | OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | #44 | #3 |
| Multi-step Planning | — | #6 |
| Tool Dispatch | — | #4 |
| Web Search | — | #9 |
| Agent Workflows | — | #7 |
| Classification & Tagging | — | #3 |
| Debugging | — | #7 |
| DevOps Config | — | #6 |
| File Read/Write | — | #6 |
| Frontend UI | — | #5 |
| Code Implementation | — | #5 |
| Repo Analysis | — | #5 |
| Code Review & Security | — | #5 |
| SQL & Database | — | #5 |
| Content Writing | — | #8 |
About OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) and OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch)
OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch)
Built by openai · released Aug 2025 · 400K-token context
GPT-5 Mini is a compact version of GPT-5, designed to handle lighter-weight reasoning tasks. It provides the same instruction-following and safety-tuning benefits as GPT-5, but with reduced latency and cost....
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch)
Built by openai · released Jul 2026 · 1.1M-token context
GPT-5.6 Luna is a fast, cost-efficient model in OpenAI's GPT-5.6 series. It is suited for high-volume, latency-sensitive tasks such as chat, classification, and lightweight agentic workflows, providing capable reasoning for...
Related comparisons
- OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) vs DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731
- OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) vs Tencent: Hy3
- OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) vs DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423
- OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) vs DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731
- OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) vs Tencent: Hy3
- OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) vs DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423
Get notified when OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) or OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) moves
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FAQ
Which is better, OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) or OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch)?
Based on weekly OpenRouter usage tracked by AI Tier List, OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) ranks #3 overall — ahead of OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) at #44. OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) is cheaper on input tokens at $0.10/1M vs $0.13/1M for OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch). OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) offers the larger context window at 1.1M tokens.
Which is cheaper, OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) or OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch)?
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) is cheaper at $0.10 per 1M input tokens. Output pricing: OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) $1, OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) $0.60.
Is OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) still ahead of OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch) right now?
Yes. For the week of 2026-08-10, OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) ranks #3 overall on OpenRouter usage against #44 for OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch). Ranks refresh weekly, and the verdict on this page flips if they cross.
Usage ranks are weekly data aggregated by OpenRouter. Prices are USD per 1M tokens.