o3-mini vs o4-mini
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
o3-mini specs · o4-mini specs- PriceTie
Both land near $4.40 / 1M output tokens, call it a wash on cost.
- Context windowTie
Both ship a 200K-token context window.
- Benchmarkso4-mini
o4-mini leads in 1 of 1 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on GPQA (graduate-level reasoning), where it scores 81.4 vs 79.7.
- Modalitieso4-mini
o4-mini supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for o3-mini.
- OpennessTie
Both are closed-weight, API-only.
On balance o4-mini edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against o3-mini's 0. Both land near $4.40 / 1M output tokens, call it a wash on cost. Both ship a 200K-token context window.
o4-mini leads in 1 of 1 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on GPQA (graduate-level reasoning), where it scores 81.4 vs 79.7. They differ in modality coverage, o3-mini handles text while o4-mini handles text, vision, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Both are closed-weight, API-only.
o4-mini is the newer of the two, released 3 months after o3-mini, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. o3-mini is usually picked for reasoning and math workloads, while o4-mini sees more deployments in reasoning and math. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | o3-mini | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | OpenAI |
| Released | Jan 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| Modalities | text | text, vision |
| Context window | 200K tokens | 200K tokens |
| Max output | , | , |
| Input · 1M | $1.10 / 1M tokens | $1.10 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $4.40 / 1M tokens | $4.40 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-10 | 2024-06 |
| Open weights | No | No |
| 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$9.90 vs $9.90
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$99.00 vs $99.00
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$191 vs $191
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: both models cost about $9.90 a month, call it a tie. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: both models cost about $99.00 a month, call it a tie. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: both models cost about $191 a month, call it a tie.
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- o3-mini$0.330
- o4-mini$0.330
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
- GPQA79.781.4
o3-mini fits when…
- Reasoning at mid-tier cost
- Fast for a thinking model
o4-mini fits when…
- Strong reasoning at mid-tier price
- Fast for a thinking model
- Solid tool-use
- Multimodal needs covering vision.
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 o3-mini or o4-mini cheaper?
Both o3-mini and o4-mini are priced equivalently at $4.40 / 1M tokens per million output tokens.Which has the larger context window?
Both o3-mini and o4-mini ship a 200K-token context window.Is o3-mini or o4-mini better for coding?
Both o3-mini and o4-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?
Neither model ships open weights, both are accessible only via their respective providers' APIs.When were o3-mini and o4-mini released?
o3-mini was released by OpenAI on 2025-01-31. o4-mini was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-16.
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