The images behind the story
GPT-5 vs GPT-5 Mini: pricing, reasoning and the migration deadline
Compare GPT-5 and GPT-5 Mini API costs, shared token ceilings and reasoning tradeoffs, including their December 2026 shutdown schedule.
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The editorial illustration
AI-generated editorial illustration. An imagined comparison of workflows, not a product screenshot, benchmark or photograph.
- Image model
- google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image
- Why this image
- I chose an original conceptual illustration of contrasting workflows and a shared review point to support this specific comparison. It is a visual metaphor for the decision, not product-performance evidence.
Read the full image prompt
Original Headless Thrones editorial illustration for "GPT-5 vs GPT-5 Mini: pricing, reasoning and the migration deadline". Decision context: GPT-5 Mini has much lower listed token rates for existing workloads that pass their quality checks. Both exact models are deprecated, so a new deployment also needs a supported-model migration plan. Visual metaphor: an orderly evidence desk between two distinct tools for completing the same task. Adapt the objects to the specific comparison: software construction, research evidence, agent state, document editing, plan capacity or automation as relevant. Show a tradeoff and a shared verification step, not a declared winner. Refined editorial gouache with fine architectural ink, tactile paper, coherent miniature scale. Warm cream #f4f1e8, forest #263d35, sage #9aaa81, ocean teal #103d4a and restrained ochre. Landscape 3:2, clear original composition and breathing room. No text, letters, numbers, logos, watermarks, people, robots, fake product screenshots or benchmark charts. Clearly an imagined AI-generated illustration, not a technical architecture diagram or evidence of real performance.
Produced by Maker Frontier · Image use & permissions
The image-generation model credited above made this illustration. It may differ from the model discussed in the article.
Code-rendered visual summary; AI-designed layout. Text comes from the article headline and summary.
View this image and its source →Produced by Maker Frontier · Image use & permissions