o3 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 specs · o4-mini specs- Priceo4-mini
o4-mini is roughly 1.8× cheaper on output tokens ($4.40 vs $8.00 per 1M).
- Context windowTie
Both ship a 200K-token context window.
- Benchmarkso3
o3 leads in 1 of 1 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on GPQA (graduate-level reasoning), where it scores 87.7 vs 81.4.
- ModalitiesTie
Both handle text, vision.
- OpennessTie
Both are closed-weight, API-only.
It's a genuine coin-flip between o3 and o4-mini: 1 category wins each, with the rest tied. o4-mini is roughly 1.8× cheaper on output tokens ($4.40 vs $8.00 per 1M). Both ship a 200K-token context window.
o3 leads in 1 of 1 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on GPQA (graduate-level reasoning), where it scores 87.7 vs 81.4. Both target the same set of modalities (text, vision), so the deciding factors are price, context, and raw quality. Both are closed-weight, API-only.
Both shipped within roughly a month of each other in 2025, so they share the same generation of training data and tooling. o3 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 | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | OpenAI |
| Released | Apr 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| Modalities | text, vision | text, vision |
| Context window | 200K tokens | 200K tokens |
| Max output | , | , |
| Input · 1M | $2.00 / 1M tokens | $1.10 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $8.00 / 1M tokens | $4.40 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-06 | 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$18.00 vs $9.90
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$180 vs $99.00
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$348 vs $191
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $18.00 vs $9.90 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $180 vs $99.00 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $348 vs $191 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.
- o3$0.600
- 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.
- HumanEval95.0
- GPQA87.781.4
o3 fits when…
- Industry-leading reasoning depth at launch
- Strong on math, science, and abstract puzzles
- Tool-use during reasoning loops
o4-mini fits when…
- Strong reasoning at mid-tier price
- Fast for a thinking model
- Solid tool-use
- Cost-sensitive workloads, 1.8× cheaper than o3 on output tokens.
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 or o4-mini cheaper?
o4-mini is cheaper at $4.40 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $8.00 / 1M tokens for o3.Which has the larger context window?
Both o3 and o4-mini ship a 200K-token context window.Is o3 or o4-mini better for coding?
Both o3 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 and o4-mini released?
o3 was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-16. o4-mini was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-16.
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