GPT-4o mini vs O3 Mini
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 |
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 | GPT-4o mini | O3 Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 58 | 80 | o3-mini leads by 22pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 50 | 76 | o3-mini leads by 26pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 60 | 85 | o3-mini leads by 25pts |
| HumanEval | 78 | 94 | o3-mini leads by 16pts |
| BigCodeBench | 44 | 65 | o3-mini leads by 21pts |
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 | O3 Mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.02 | $0.17 | GPT-4o mini saves $0.15 (86%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.18 | $1.27 | GPT-4o mini saves $1.08 (85%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $0.92 | $6.33 | GPT-4o mini saves $5.41 (85%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.05 | $0.30 | GPT-4o mini saves $0.26 (85%) |
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 |
| O3 Mini | 80 | $0.014/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
O3 Mini
- + Excellent at competitive programming
- + Strong algorithmic reasoning
- - Optimized for reasoning, not chat
Verdict
GPT-4o mini is cheaper at $0.150/M, but O3 Mini scores higher on benchmarks (80 vs 58).
Choose GPT-4o mini for cost-sensitive projects, O3 Mini 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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