Gemma 4 31B vs GPT-4.1 mini: API Cost Comparison

Compare the API pricing, context windows, features, and real-world cost projections for Gemma 4 31B (Google) and GPT-4.1 mini (OpenAI). Use the interactive calculator below to compute your exact monthly cost based on your token usage and request volume.

Prices verified Apr 3, 2026

Interactive Cost Calculator

Select Models (2/10)

GoogleGemma 4 31BOpenAIGPT-4.1 mini

Use Case Preset

Fills in typical token counts for a workload type

Avg Input Tokens / Request

Tokens in each prompt sent to the model

Avg Output Tokens / Request

Tokens generated in each response

Monthly Requests

Total API calls per month

Cheapest: Gemma 4 31B at $3.40/mo — save 71.7% vs GPT-4.1 mini

							Alert
BestGemma 4 31B	Google	$3.40	$0.000340	$1.40	$2.00	71.7%	Alerts coming soon
GPT-4.1 mini	OpenAI	$12.00	$0.001200	$4.00	$8.00	—	Alerts coming soon

Monthly Cost Comparison

Price Comparison at a Glance

All prices are in USD per 1 million tokens ($/M tokens). Lower is cheaper.

Pricing Type	Gemma 4 31B	GPT-4.1 mini	Cheaper
Input (standard)	$0.14/M	$0.40/M	Gemma 4 31B
Output	$0.40/M	$1.60/M	Gemma 4 31B
Cached input	N/A	$0.10/M	—
Batch input	N/A	$0.20/M	—
Batch output	N/A	$0.80/M	—

Prices last verified: 2026-03-08 – 2026-04-03

Cost Breakdown by Usage Volume

Estimated monthly costs at different request volumes, assuming 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request. Adjust in the calculator above for your specific use case.

Volume	Gemma 4 31BMonthly	GPT-4.1 miniMonthly	Gemma 4 31BPer request	GPT-4.1 miniPer request
1K requests/mo	$0.34	$1.20	$0.000340	$0.001200
10K requests/mo	$3.40	$12.00	$0.000340	$0.001200
100K requests/mo	$34.00	$120.00	$0.000340	$0.001200
1M requests/mo	$340.00	$1,200.00	$0.000340	$0.001200

Green values indicate the lower-cost option at each volume tier. Cost per request is calculated at 1,000 input + 500 output tokens using standard (non-batch, non-cached) pricing.

Price History

Input price per 1M tokens

When to Choose Gemma 4 31B

by Google

General chatbot
Code generation
Document Analysis

Input / 1M tokens

$0.14/M

Output / 1M tokens

$0.40/M

Context window

262,144

Tier

budget

When to Choose GPT-4.1 mini

by OpenAI

Customer support
Data extraction
General chatbot

Input / 1M tokens

$0.40/M

Output / 1M tokens

$1.60/M

Context window

1,047,576

Tier

mid

Key Differences Beyond Price

Cost is only one factor in choosing an AI model. Context window size, rate limits, supported features, and latency all affect whether a model fits your use case.

Capability	Gemma 4 31B	GPT-4.1 mini
Context window	262,144 tokens	1,047,576 tokens
Max output tokens	131,072 tokens	32,768 tokens
Performance tier	Budget	Mid
Vision / image input	Yes	Yes
Function calling	Yes	Yes
JSON mode	Yes	Yes
Prompt caching	No	Yes
Batch API (50% discount)	No	Yes
Extended reasoning	Yes	No
Fine-tuning	No	No
Rate limit (req/min)	Not published	10,000

Gemma 4 31B notes

Open-weight model (Apache 2.0). Pricing reflects Google AI Studio hosted API.

GPT-4.1 mini notes

Strong mid-tier option with 1M token context at competitive pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Gemma 4 31B cheaper than GPT-4.1 mini?

At standard usage (1,000 input tokens, 500 output tokens, 100,000 requests/month), Gemma 4 31B costs $34.00/month versus $120.00/month for GPT-4.1 mini — a 72% saving. Your actual savings will vary based on your token profile; output-heavy workloads amplify differences in output pricing.

Which model has a larger context window, Gemma 4 31B or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-4.1 mini has a larger context window at 1,047,576 tokens, compared to 262,144 tokens for Gemma 4 31B. A larger context window is important for processing long documents, multi-turn conversations, or large codebases without truncation.

Do Gemma 4 31B and GPT-4.1 mini support the Batch API?

GPT-4.1 mini supports the Batch API (50% discount for async processing), while Gemma 4 31B does not. If your workload tolerates up to 24-hour latency, routing to GPT-4.1 mini with batch pricing could significantly cut costs versus Gemma 4 31B's standard rate.

Which model offers better prompt caching?

GPT-4.1 mini supports prompt caching at $0.10/M for cached input, while Gemma 4 31B does not offer prompt caching. For RAG applications or chatbots with large, repeated context, GPT-4.1 mini's caching capability can substantially reduce effective costs.

What are the best use cases for Gemma 4 31B vs GPT-4.1 mini?

Both models are well-suited for General chatbot. Gemma 4 31B is particularly strong for Code generation, Document Analysis. GPT-4.1 mini is favored for Customer support, Data extraction. At the same quality level, the lower-cost model is usually preferable; use this page's calculator to compare total monthly spend at your volume.

What is the cost per request for Gemma 4 31B vs GPT-4.1 mini?

At 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request — a typical conversational workload — Gemma 4 31B costs $0.000340 per request and GPT-4.1 mini costs $0.001200 per request. At 100,000 requests/month, that translates to $34.00 and $120.00 respectively. Use the interactive calculator to adjust these parameters for your actual workload.

Gemma 4 31B vs GPT-4.1 mini: Summary

When comparing Gemma 4 31B and GPT-4.1 mini for API cost, the right choice depends on your workload's token profile, required features, and tolerance for latency. Gemma 4 31B offers lower total cost at standard usage volumes (1,000 input + 500 output tokens per request at 100,000 requests/month) at $34.00/month, compared to $120.00/month for GPT-4.1 mini.

Both models are priced in USD per million tokens, the standard unit across all major AI API providers. Gemma 4 31B charges $0.14/M for input tokens and $0.40/M for output tokens. GPT-4.1 mini charges $0.40/M input and $1.60/M output. If your workload is output-heavy (more tokens generated than consumed as input), the model with the lower output price compounds cost savings significantly at scale.

Prompt caching is supported by GPT-4.1 mini but not Gemma 4 31B. For workloads with large, repeated system prompts or document context — such as RAG pipelines or multi-turn conversations with a fixed knowledge base — prompt caching can reduce effective input costs by 60–90%, which may change the cost ranking between these two models at your specific usage pattern.

Context window capacity differs between the two: GPT-4.1 mini supports up to 1,047,576 tokens in a single request, versus 262,144 tokens for Gemma 4 31B. A larger context window is essential for document summarization, large codebase analysis, and multi-document retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications.

Use the interactive calculator at the top of this page to enter your actual token usage and monthly request volume for a precise cost comparison tailored to your workload. Adjust for batch API discounts and prompt caching to find the most cost-effective option for your specific deployment.

Explore other model comparisons from the same providers or performance tiers.

Gemma 4 31B vs GPT-5.4 Gemma 4 31B vs GPT-5.4 Pro Gemma 4 31B vs GPT-5.3 Gemma 4 31B vs GPT-5.2 GPT-4.1 mini vs GPT-5 GPT-4.1 mini vs GPT-5 mini GPT-4.1 mini vs GPT-5 nano GPT-4.1 mini vs GPT-4o

Related Provider Pages

View complete pricing tables and model lineups for the providers behind these models.

Google API Pricing — All Models OpenAI API Pricing — All Models

Relevant Use Cases

See cost recommendations for workloads where Gemma 4 31B or GPT-4.1 mini is recommended.

Customer Support Bot Code Generation Data Extraction General Chatbot