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Head-to-head comparison

GPT-5.4 Mini vs gpt-oss-safeguard-20b

GPT-5.4 Mini (OpenAI) and gpt-oss-safeguard-20b (OpenAI) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 22 September 2026

As of 22 September 2026, GPT-5.4 Mini holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#34 vs #169); gpt-oss-safeguard-20b is 15× cheaper per output token ($0.30/1M vs $4.50/1M); GPT-5.4 Mini offers the longer context window (400K vs 131K tokens); and gpt-oss-safeguard-20b ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose GPT-5.4 Mini if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #34 against #169 (71.9 vs 31.3 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 400K tokens against 131K.
  • you want provider choice — 2 listed API providers against 1.
  • you want the more recently listed model — GPT-5.4 Mini was listed 17 March 2026, gpt-oss-safeguard-20b 29 October 2025.

Choose gpt-oss-safeguard-20b if…

  • API cost matters — $0.30/1M output tokens against $4.50/1M, about 15× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.075/1M against $0.75/1M.
  • you want to self-host: gpt-oss-safeguard-20b ships open weights while GPT-5.4 Mini is api only.

GPT-5.4 Mini vs gpt-oss-safeguard-20b: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of GPT-5.4 Mini and gpt-oss-safeguard-20b
FieldGPT-5.4 MiniOpenAIgpt-oss-safeguard-20bOpenAI
ModelCap Index position#34#169
Index score71.931.3
EvidenceMeasuredInherited
Input price / 1M tokens$0.75$0.075
Output price / 1M tokens$4.50$0.30
Context window400K tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens128K66K
API providers listed21
Weight accessAPI onlyOpen weights
Input modalitiesFile, Image, TextText
First listed17 March 202629 October 2025
PublisherOpenAIOpenAI

Evidence: 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards · finetune of openai/gpt-oss-20b · fp4 (100%). Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: GPT-5.4 Mini vs gpt-oss-safeguard-20b

Public benchmark boards where GPT-5.4 Mini or gpt-oss-safeguard-20b has a published result
BoardGPT-5.4 Minigpt-oss-safeguard-20bLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14961490–1502High—Only one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation18.9%X-High—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis24.1intelligence-index:v4.3:xhigh—Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis83.3%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="GPT-5.4 mini (xhigh)":reasoning=true—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis28.1%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="GPT-5.4 mini (xhigh)":reasoning=true—Only one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

GPT-5.4 Mini vs gpt-oss-safeguard-20b: common questions

Is GPT-5.4 Mini better than gpt-oss-safeguard-20b?

GPT-5.4 Mini ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 22 September 2026: #34 against #169. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it. Their published uncertainty intervals do not overlap, but the aggregate Index does not predict performance on every task; compare the relevant benchmark configurations before choosing.

Is GPT-5.4 Mini cheaper than gpt-oss-safeguard-20b?

gpt-oss-safeguard-20b is cheaper on output tokens: $0.30/1M against $4.50/1M. Input tokens are $0.75/1M for GPT-5.4 Mini and $0.075/1M for gpt-oss-safeguard-20b. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $3.75 for GPT-5.4 Mini versus $0.30 for gpt-oss-safeguard-20b. gpt-oss-safeguard-20b costs 92.0% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, GPT-5.4 Mini or gpt-oss-safeguard-20b?

GPT-5.4 Mini has the larger context window: 400K tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, GPT-5.4 Mini or gpt-oss-safeguard-20b?

The two models do not share a coding benchmark board on ModelCap yet, so no head-to-head coding score is published; the ModelCap Index position is the closest overall signal.

Are GPT-5.4 Mini and gpt-oss-safeguard-20b open-weight models?

GPT-5.4 Mini: API only. gpt-oss-safeguard-20b: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run GPT-5.4 Mini and gpt-oss-safeguard-20b?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for GPT-5.4 Mini and 1 for gpt-oss-safeguard-20b, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this GPT-5.4 Mini vs gpt-oss-safeguard-20b comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 22 September 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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