GPT-4.1 mini: cost, energy and CO₂ per token
What is the footprint of GPT-4.1 mini? GPT-4.1 mini emits about 145 g of CO₂e, uses 1.7 L of water and 329 Wh of electricity per million generated tokens. Per million input tokens: 24 g of CO₂e, 284 mL of water, 55 Wh. Public price: €1 per million generated tokens, €0.35 for input.
Factors tokenclimate-v4-2026-07, updated on , low confidence. Sources and equations in the methodology.
Key figures, per million tokens
| Energy | CO₂e | Water | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input tokens | 55 Wh | 24 g | 284 mL | €0.35 |
| Generated tokens | 329 Wh | 145 g | 1.7 L | €1 |
Of the 26 models in the TokenClimate registry, GPT-4.1 mini ranks 7th for carbon intensity per million generated tokens, below the median (681 g). The gap with GPT-6 Luna, the registry's most frugal, is still ×6.2.
One million generated tokens represents about 1 km in a combustion car.
Frequently asked questions
How much CO₂e for 1 million tokens with GPT-4.1 mini?
About 145 g per million generated tokens and 24 g per million input tokens (factors tokenclimate-v4-2026-07 of the TokenClimate registry).
Where do these figures come from?
Factors published in TokenClimate's versioned registry, each with its citation on this page. The full equations and parameters are in the public methodology, at tokenclimate.com/en/methodology.
What is the confidence level?
Low confidence: extrapolated from another model, or estimated by a parametric tool.
How can you measure your organisation's real usage?
The TokenClimate dashboard connects to your organisation's Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter admin keys (stored encrypted) and measures cost and CO₂e per team and per model. You can see it in the demo: tokenclimate.com/demo. Locally, the open source plugin claude-carbon measures a Claude Code session.
Sources and method
Energy per token
The per-token energy factor behind the figures above, published with its citation. (EcoLogits v0.10.2)
Infrastructure parameters
Datacenter parameters applied to this provider (the equations live in the methodology). (Jegham et al., arXiv:2505.09598 (v6))
| PUE | 1.12 |
| Grid carbon intensity (CIF) | 0.35 kgCO₂e/kWh |
| On-site water (WUE) | 0.3 L/kWh |
| Off-site water (EWIF) | 4.35 L/kWh |
| Amortised manufacturing (embodied) | 49 gCO₂e/kWh |
Price
Public provider prices. (developers.openai.com, pricing)
Full equations and assumptions in the methodology.