GPT-4o mini vs OpenAI o3
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
GPT-4o mini
OpenAIAffordable small model. Fast and cost-effective for high-volume coding tasks.
| Input | $0.150/M |
| Output | $0.600/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | High-volume tasks, simple coding, cost-sensitive projects |
| Benchmark | 58/100 |
OpenAI o3
OpenAINext generation reasoning model. Improved coding and math over o1.
| Input | $10.00/M |
| Output | $40.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Advanced coding, complex problem-solving |
| Benchmark | 85/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | GPT-4o mini | OpenAI o3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 58 | 85 | o3 leads by 27pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 50 | 82 | o3 leads by 32pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 60 | 88 | o3 leads by 28pts |
| HumanEval | 78 | 96 | o3 leads by 18pts |
| BigCodeBench | 44 | 74 | o3 leads by 30pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | GPT-4o mini | OpenAI o3 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.02 | $1.55 | GPT-4o mini saves $1.53 (98%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.18 | $11.50 | GPT-4o mini saves $11.32 (98%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $0.92 | $57.50 | GPT-4o mini saves $56.58 (98%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.05 | $2.75 | GPT-4o mini saves $2.70 (98%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o mini | 58 | $0.003/pt | Better value |
| OpenAI o3 | 85 | $0.167/pt | Higher cost per point |
GPT-4o mini delivers the best value at $0.003 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
GPT-4o mini
- + Very cheap
- + Fast responses
- - Struggles with multi-step reasoning
OpenAI o3
- + Latest reasoning model
- + Top-tier across all benchmarks
- - Very expensive
- - Slow
Verdict
GPT-4o mini is cheaper at $0.150/M, but OpenAI o3 scores higher on benchmarks (85 vs 58).
Choose GPT-4o mini for cost-sensitive projects, OpenAI o3 when performance matters most.
Compare with Other Models
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Claude Opus 4
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Claude 3.5 Sonnet
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Claude 3.5 Haiku
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Claude 3 Opus
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Claude 3 Sonnet
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