OpenAI has launched a powerful new family of models: GPT‑4.1, GPT‑4.1 Mini, and GPT‑4.1 Nano. These models outperform GPT‑4o and GPT‑4.5 in key areas like coding, instruction following, and long-context understanding. They also bring down cost and latency, making them a strong choice for developers building AI tools.
Let’s look at what’s new and why GPT‑4.1 is now the most practical model available through the API.
Better Than GPT‑4o and GPT‑4.5 Across the Board
On real-world benchmarks, GPT‑4.1 shows major improvements:
Coding (SWE-bench Verified):
- GPT‑4.1: 54.6%
- GPT‑4o: 33.2%
- GPT‑4.5: 38%
Instruction Following (MultiChallenge):
- GPT‑4.1: 38.3%
- GPT‑4o: 27.8%
- GPT‑4.5: 44%
Video Understanding (Video-MME):
- GPT‑4.1: 72%
- GPT‑4o: 65%
These results show that GPT‑4.1 is more accurate, more consistent, and more reliable than previous models.
Built for Real Developer Workflows
GPT‑4.1 handles practical coding tasks much better than its predecessors. It’s more accurate in generating code diffs and less likely to make unnecessary edits. In head-to-head frontend coding comparisons, human reviewers preferred GPT‑4.1’s output 80% of the time over GPT‑4o.
It’s also well-suited for agent-based tasks. With better format following, tool usage, and instruction tracking, GPT‑4.1 makes AI agents more usable and efficient.
1 Million Token Context Window
One of the biggest upgrades is the context window. GPT‑4.1, Mini, and Nano all support up to 1 million tokens. That’s more than enough to handle large codebases, lengthy documents, and long conversations without losing track of earlier inputs.
OpenAI’s tests show that GPT‑4.1 can retrieve relevant information even from the end of this large context window. This makes it useful for use cases like legal document review, financial data extraction, and knowledge base search.
More Power, Less Cost
The GPT‑4.1 family delivers better performance at lower prices. Here’s a breakdown of pricing per 1 million tokens:
| Model | Input | Cached Input | Output | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT‑4.1 | $2.00 | $0.50 | $8.00 | 1M |
| GPT‑4.1 Mini | $0.40 | $0.10 | $1.60 | 1M |
| GPT‑4.1 Nano | $0.10 | $0.025 | $0.40 | 1M |
Prompt caching now gives up to 75% discount on repeated inputs, helping reduce overall token usage and latency.
GPT‑4.5 Will Be Deprecated
OpenAI has announced that GPT‑4.5 Preview will be removed on July 14, 2025. GPT‑4.1 is now better or equal in most categories, while being more cost-effective.
If you’re using GPT‑4.5 for production apps, it’s time to plan your migration.
Summary
GPT‑4.1 is not just a technical upgrade — it’s a clear step forward for practical AI development.
You get:
- Better coding and reasoning ability
- Improved instruction following
- 1 million token context
- Faster performance
- Lower costs
Whether you’re building agents, writing assistants, support bots, or developer tools — GPT‑4.1 is the most reliable and efficient model available today through the API.