🔍 ChatGPT Model Comparison Guide
On 10 May 2025, I asked ChatGPT to create a concise but informative guide comparing the various versions of ChatGPT available at the time. The goal was to understand each model’s capabilities, limitations, and technical distinctions to help users choose the right tool for their needs.
This guide is a companion to the AI Model Recommendations by Task, which outlines which model is best suited for different kinds of tasks. Together, these pages form a practical reference for evaluating and selecting the most appropriate ChatGPT model.
| Model | Best Suited For | Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o (2024) | High-quality general and professional use | Fast, smart, multimodal (text, vision, audio), excellent for creative, analytical, and coding tasks | Some edge cases still favour domain-specific models |
| GPT-4o-mini | Everyday use with lower resource needs | Lightweight, fast, good for daily chat, simple tasks, and smaller apps | Lower reasoning, shorter context window |
| GPT-4o-mini-high | Mid-range apps needing smarter output | Higher quality than mini; useful for basic coding, analysis | Still limited for complex logic or extended reasoning |
| GPT-4-turbo (o3) | Existing ChatGPT Plus users before 2024 switch | Optimized cost/performance, good for most use cases | Replaced by GPT-4o; now legacy |
| GPT-4-turbo (o4-mini) | Developer-optimised variant of GPT-4 | Faster, cheaper for devs; used in OpenAI API plans | Less intelligent than GPT-4o; no audio/vision |
| GPT-4.5 (Not officially released as of May 2025) | Rumoured or tested model | N/A | N/A |
🔧 Side-by-Side Technical Breakdown
| Feature / Model | GPT-4o | GPT-4o-mini | GPT-4o-mini-high | GPT-4-turbo (o3) | GPT-4-turbo (o4-mini) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capabilities & Intelligence | ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ High reasoning, creativity, logic |
⭐⭐ Basic logic, great for chatbots |
⭐⭐½ Good for simpler tasks, casual code |
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Strong generalist |
⭐⭐½ Balanced cost-efficiency |
| Speed & Responsiveness | ⚡⚡⚡⚡ Fastest yet |
⚡⚡⚡⚡ Very fast |
⚡⚡⚡ Fast |
⚡⚡½ | ⚡⚡⚡ |
| Multimodal Abilities | ✅ Text, Vision, Audio (input/output) | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ (text + image input only) | ❌ |
| Accuracy & Context Retention | 🧠🧠🧠🧠½ 128K context, solid accuracy |
🧠🧠 Shorter context (~8K) |
🧠🧠½ Mid-range (~32K) |
🧠🧠🧠🧠 128K context |
🧠🧠½ Likely shorter |
| Technical & Dev Use | ✅ Full-stack apps, RAG, agents | ✅ Simple bots, tools | ✅ Assistant-level logic | ✅ Full API access, stable | ✅ API-focused, good for scale |
| Pricing & Access | Free & Plus (web) + API | Likely free-tier or low-cost API | Low-mid API tier | Replaced in ChatGPT UI, legacy API | API only (OpenAI backend use) |
🔑 Key Takeaways
- GPT-4o is now the flagship model. It’s best for nearly everything—coding, content creation, image understanding, and even real-time conversation.
- GPT-4o-mini / mini-high are budget-friendly options. Use these for casual tools or when minimizing API costs.
- GPT-4-turbo (o3/o4-mini) are being phased out in favour of GPT-4o but may remain in API products as cost-efficient backends.
- GPT-4.5 is not a publicly available model—any claims should be treated cautiously unless officially announced.
💡 Tips for Choosing
- For creative professionals, coders, or researchers → Go with GPT-4o (Plus or API).
- For startups or chatbots → GPT-4o-mini-high offers a smart cost/performance balance.
- For legacy systems or budget → Use GPT-4-turbo where supported.
- For vision, voice, or real-time applications → Only GPT-4o supports all modalities.