Grok 3 vs Jamba 1.5 Mini
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
Grok 3 specs · Jamba 1.5 Mini specs- PriceJamba 1.5 Mini
Jamba 1.5 Mini is roughly 37.5× cheaper on output tokens ($0.40 vs $15.00 per 1M).
- Context windowJamba 1.5 Mini
Jamba 1.5 Mini accepts 256K tokens vs 128K, 2.0× the room for long documents and codebases.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesGrok 3
Grok 3 supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Jamba 1.5 Mini.
- OpennessJamba 1.5 Mini
Jamba 1.5 Mini ships open weights (Jamba Open Model License); Grok 3 is API-only.
On balance Jamba 1.5 Mini edges ahead, winning 3 of 5 categories against Grok 3's 1. Jamba 1.5 Mini is roughly 37.5× cheaper on output tokens ($0.40 vs $15.00 per 1M). Jamba 1.5 Mini accepts 256K tokens vs 128K, 2.0× the room for long documents and codebases.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, Grok 3 handles text, vision while Jamba 1.5 Mini handles text, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Jamba 1.5 Mini ships open weights (Jamba Open Model License); Grok 3 is API-only.
Grok 3 is the newer of the two, released 6 months after Jamba 1.5 Mini, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Grok 3 is usually picked for chatbots and research agent workloads, while Jamba 1.5 Mini sees more deployments in long context and summarization. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Grok 3 | Jamba 1.5 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | xAI | AI21 |
| Released | Feb 2025 | Aug 2024 |
| Modalities | text, vision | text |
| Context window | 128K tokens | 256K tokens |
| Max output | , | , |
| Input · 1M | $3.00 / 1M tokens | $0.20 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $15.00 / 1M tokens | $0.40 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-08 | , |
| Open weights | No | Yes (Jamba Open Model 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$31.50 vs $1.20
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$315 vs $12.00
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$540 vs $32.40
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $31.50 vs $1.20 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $315 vs $12.00 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $540 vs $32.40 per month, model B comes out ahead.
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Grok 3$1.05
- Jamba 1.5 Mini$0.040
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
Grok 3 fits when…
- Real-time X access
- Reasoning modes
- Multimodal needs covering vision.
Jamba 1.5 Mini fits when…
- 256k context at small-model price
- Hybrid SSM-Transformer is efficient on long inputs
- Open weights for self-hosting
- Cost-sensitive workloads, 37.5× cheaper than Grok 3 on output tokens.
- Long-context tasks, handles 256K tokens vs 128K for Grok 3.
Consider Grok 4
xAI's mid-2025 flagship, top scores on Humanity's Last Exam at launch, with native real-time X integration.
Frequently asked
Is Grok 3 or Jamba 1.5 Mini cheaper?
Jamba 1.5 Mini is cheaper at $0.40 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $15.00 / 1M tokens for Grok 3.Which has the larger context window?
Jamba 1.5 Mini accepts 256K tokens vs 128K for Grok 3.Is Grok 3 or Jamba 1.5 Mini better for coding?
Both Grok 3 and Jamba 1.5 Mini 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?
Jamba 1.5 Mini ships open weights (Jamba Open Model License). Grok 3 is API-only.When were Grok 3 and Jamba 1.5 Mini released?
Grok 3 was released by xAI on 2025-02-17. Jamba 1.5 Mini was released by AI21 on 2024-08-22.
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