OpenAI o1-mini vs O3 Mini
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
OpenAI o1-mini
OpenAICost-effective reasoning model. Good for coding tasks that require logical reasoning.
| Input | $1.10/M |
| Output | $4.40/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | Coding logic, debugging, algorithm design |
| Benchmark | 70/100 |
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 | OpenAI o1-mini | O3 Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70 | 80 | o3-mini leads by 10pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 64 | 76 | o3-mini leads by 12pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 72 | 85 | o3-mini leads by 13pts |
| HumanEval | 90 | 94 | o3-mini leads by 4pts |
| BigCodeBench | 54 | 65 | o3-mini 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 | OpenAI o1-mini | O3 Mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.17 | $0.17 | OpenAI o1-mini saves <$0.01 (0%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $1.27 | $1.27 | OpenAI o1-mini saves <$0.01 (0%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $6.33 | $6.33 | OpenAI o1-mini saves <$0.01 (0%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.30 | $0.30 | OpenAI o1-mini saves <$0.01 (0%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI o1-mini | 70 | $0.016/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
OpenAI o1-mini
- + Reasoning at lower cost
- + Good for competitive programming
- - Slower than standard models
O3 Mini
- + Excellent at competitive programming
- + Strong algorithmic reasoning
- - Optimized for reasoning, not chat
Verdict
OpenAI o1-mini is cheaper at $1.10/M, but O3 Mini scores higher on benchmarks (80 vs 70).
Choose OpenAI o1-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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