GPT-4o mini vs Llama 3.2 3B
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
GPT-4o mini specs · Llama 3.2 3B specs- PriceGPT-4o mini
GPT-4o mini publishes pricing ($0.60 / 1M output tokens) while Llama 3.2 3B does not.
- Context windowTie
Both ship a 128K-token context window.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesGPT-4o mini
GPT-4o mini supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Llama 3.2 3B.
- OpennessLlama 3.2 3B
Llama 3.2 3B ships open weights (Llama 3 Community License); GPT-4o mini is API-only.
On balance GPT-4o mini edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against Llama 3.2 3B's 1. GPT-4o mini publishes pricing ($0.60 / 1M output tokens) while Llama 3.2 3B does not. Both ship a 128K-token context window.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, GPT-4o mini handles text, vision while Llama 3.2 3B handles text, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Llama 3.2 3B ships open weights (Llama 3 Community License); GPT-4o mini is API-only.
Llama 3.2 3B is the newer of the two, released 2 months after GPT-4o mini, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. GPT-4o mini is usually picked for customer support and summarization workloads, while Llama 3.2 3B sees more deployments in on device and edge deployment. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | GPT-4o mini | Llama 3.2 3B |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | Meta |
| Released | Jul 2024 | Sep 2024 |
| Modalities | text, vision | text |
| Context window | 128K tokens | 128K tokens |
| Max output | , | , |
| Input · 1M | $0.15 / 1M tokens | Pricing not published |
| Output · 1M | $0.60 / 1M tokens | Pricing not published |
| Knowledge cutoff | , | , |
| Open weights | No | Yes (Llama 3 Community License) |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
Pricing at scale
What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day$1.35 vs ,
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$13.50 vs ,
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$26.10 vs ,
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- GPT-4o mini$0.045
- Llama 3.2 3BPricing unavailable
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
- MMLU82.0
GPT-4o mini fits when…
- Cheap
- Fast
- Mature
- Multimodal needs covering vision.
Llama 3.2 3B fits when…
- Runs on phones
- 128k context for its size
- Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (Llama 3 Community License).
Consider GPT-5.5
OpenAI's mid-cycle GPT-5 refresh, improved reasoning, tool use, and multimodal grounding over the 2025 launch.
Frequently asked
Is GPT-4o mini or Llama 3.2 3B cheaper?
Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.Which has the larger context window?
Both GPT-4o mini and Llama 3.2 3B ship a 128K-token context window.Is GPT-4o mini or Llama 3.2 3B better for coding?
Both GPT-4o mini and Llama 3.2 3B are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.Are either of these models open source?
Llama 3.2 3B ships open weights (Llama 3 Community License). GPT-4o mini is API-only.When were GPT-4o mini and Llama 3.2 3B released?
GPT-4o mini was released by OpenAI on 2024-07-18. Llama 3.2 3B was released by Meta on 2024-09-25.
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