Claude Opus 4 vs O3 Mini
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Claude Opus 4
AnthropicAnthropic's most powerful model. Best for complex reasoning and challenging coding tasks.
| Input | $15.00/M |
| Output | $75.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Complex architecture decisions, debugging hard bugs, research |
| Benchmark | 86/100 |
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 Opus 4 | O3 Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86 | 80 | Claude Opus 4 leads by 6pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 84 | 76 | Claude Opus 4 leads by 8pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 88 | 85 | Claude Opus 4 leads by 3pts |
| HumanEval | 96 | 94 | Claude Opus 4 leads by 2pts |
| BigCodeBench | 76 | 65 | Claude Opus 4 leads by 11pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | Claude Opus 4 | O3 Mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $3.08 | $0.17 | O3 Mini saves $2.91 (94%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $23.29 | $1.27 | O3 Mini saves $22.02 (95%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $116.44 | $6.33 | O3 Mini saves $110.11 (95%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $6.02 | $0.30 | O3 Mini saves $5.72 (95%) |
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 Opus 4 | 86 | $0.174/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 Opus 4
- + Best at complex reasoning
- + Strong system design
- + Excellent debugging
- - Expensive for bulk tasks
- - Slower response times
O3 Mini
- + Excellent at competitive programming
- + Strong algorithmic reasoning
- - Optimized for reasoning, not chat
Verdict
O3 Mini is cheaper at $1.10/M, but Claude Opus 4 scores higher on benchmarks (86 vs 80).
Choose O3 Mini for cost-sensitive projects, Claude Opus 4 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 3.5 Sonnet
AnthropicPrevious generation Sonnet. Still excellent for coding tasks at the same price point.
Claude 3.5 Haiku
AnthropicFast, cost-effective model for high-volume tasks. Great for code review and simple queries.
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.