Author – Ken Hobson.
NOTE: This is up to date as of August 2, 2025 (AI moves fast – I will regularly update this)

Start With Your Goal

Before switching models, match the job you need to the model’s strengths. Writing 1 000- to 1 500-word articles and tutorials is creative text work. That means you mainly care about:

• Clarity and style – how natural the writing sounds

• Speed and cost – how fast the answer arrives and what it costs per run

• Memory (context window) – how much source material you can paste in for the model to read

Below is a side-by-side look at the current options.

o3 – The “Thinking” Model

• What it does best: Plans multi-step answers and decides which ChatGPT tools (web search, code, images) to use.

• Limits for writers: Generates good text, but its speciality is reasoning, not polished prose. It can be slower and dearer than the text-first models.

• When to keep using it: Long research prompts where the model needs to browse, crunch numbers, or combine files before writing. 

GPT-4o – Fast, Fluent, Multimodal

• What it does best: High-quality writing plus images, audio, and real-time voice. Twice as fast and roughly half the price of earlier GPT-4 versions.

• Why it suits articles: Produces smooth, clean language quickly. You can also drop in screenshots or floor-plans and have the model describe them.

• Tip: Make this your default for everyday blog posts, email templates, and how-to guides. 

GPT-4o Mini – Budget Option for Bulk Jobs

• What it does best: Almost GPT-4-level quality at a fraction of the cost (about 25 ¢ per million input tokens). Keeps the 128 k token window.

• Ideal use: Churning out dozens of suburb market blurbs, SMS drafts, or social captions where perfect polish is less critical. 

GPT-4 Turbo – Big Memory, Mid-Price

• What it does best: Holds up to 128 k tokens (roughly 300 book pages). Prices are about 70 % lower than classic GPT-4.

• Ideal use: Feed entire legislation manuals, training handbooks, or months of inspection notes, then ask for a single, coherent article. 

GPT-4.1 (and Mini / Nano) – Flagship for Huge Projects

• What it does best: Up to 1 million tokens in one go, stronger at following instructions, and 26 % cheaper than GPT-4o.

• Ideal use: Agency-wide data dives—analysing every listing, lead, and sale to spot trends, then drafting a long-form report.

• Note: Full 1 M window is API-only; ChatGPT still caps you at 32 k tokens. 

Costs in a Nutshell

Pricing updates move often—check the OpenAI pricing page for exact numbers. (OpenAI)

Simple Decision Guide

1. Need clean copy fast? Use GPT-4o.

2. Writing in bulk on a tight budget? Go GPT-4o Mini.

3. Pasting huge source material? Choose GPT-4 Turbo (or 4.1 via API).

4. Complex research that uses browsing, code, or images before writing? Stick with o3, then hand the notes to GPT-4o for the final draft.

Bottom Line

If your workflow is “ask a question, get a finished article,” GPT-4o (or its Mini version when volume matters) will usually give the best blend of quality, speed, and price.

Keep o3 in the toolbox for research-heavy prompts where strategic reasoning across multiple tools is more important than raw writing polish.