Claude 3.5 Haiku vs O3 Mini
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Claude 3.5 Haiku
AnthropicFast, cost-effective model for high-volume tasks. Great for code review and simple queries.
| Input | $0.800/M |
| Output | $4.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Code review, high-volume tasks, simple queries |
| Benchmark | 52/100 |
O3 Mini
OpenAIOpenAI's reasoning model at lower cost. Strong at math, coding, and science tasks.
| Input | $1.10/M |
| Output | $4.40/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Math, science, coding tasks requiring deep reasoning |
| Benchmark | 80/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Haiku | O3 Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 52 | 80 | o3-mini leads by 28pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 45 | 76 | o3-mini leads by 31pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 55 | 85 | o3-mini leads by 30pts |
| HumanEval | 75 | 94 | o3-mini leads by 19pts |
| BigCodeBench | 38 | 65 | o3-mini leads by 27pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | Claude 3.5 Haiku | O3 Mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.16 | $0.17 | Claude 3.5 Haiku saves <$0.01 (4%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $1.24 | $1.27 | Claude 3.5 Haiku saves $0.02 (2%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $6.21 | $6.33 | Claude 3.5 Haiku saves $0.12 (2%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.32 | $0.30 | O3 Mini saves $0.02 (6%) |
Value Analysis (Price per Benchmark Score Point)
Lower is better — how much you pay for each point of benchmark performance.
| Model | Overall Score | Price per Score Point | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude 3.5 Haiku | 52 | $0.015/pt | Higher cost per point |
| O3 Mini | 80 | $0.014/pt | Better value |
O3 Mini delivers the best value at $0.014 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Claude 3.5 Haiku
- + Fastest Claude model
- + Cheapest option
- + Good for code review
- - Struggles with complex tasks
- - Limited reasoning depth
O3 Mini
- + Excellent at competitive programming
- + Strong algorithmic reasoning
- - Optimized for reasoning, not chat
Verdict
Claude 3.5 Haiku is cheaper at $0.800/M, but O3 Mini scores higher on benchmarks (80 vs 52).
Choose Claude 3.5 Haiku for cost-sensitive projects, O3 Mini when performance matters most.
Compare with Other Models
Claude Sonnet 4
AnthropicAnthropic's balanced model for coding and general tasks. Best price-performance ratio in the Claude family.
Claude Opus 4
AnthropicAnthropic's most powerful model. Best for complex reasoning and challenging coding tasks.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
AnthropicPrevious generation Sonnet. Still excellent for coding tasks at the same price point.
Claude 3 Opus
AnthropicFirst generation Opus. Highest reasoning capability in the Claude 3 family.
Claude 3 Sonnet
AnthropicFirst generation Sonnet. Balanced performance for general tasks.
Claude 3 Haiku
AnthropicCheapest Claude model. Fast responses for simple tasks and basic coding.