OpenAI o3-mini vs Claude 4 Haiku
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
OpenAI o3-mini
OpenAIAffordable reasoning model for coding tasks. Best price-performance for algorithm-heavy work.
| Input | $1.10/M |
| Output | $4.40/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Algorithm design, coding challenges, debugging |
| Benchmark | 80/100 |
Claude 4 Haiku
AnthropicUpdated Haiku model with improved reasoning over Claude 3.5 Haiku. Fast and affordable for high-volume tasks.
| Input | $0.800/M |
| Output | $4.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | High-volume tasks, simple queries, cost-sensitive workflows |
| Benchmark | 55/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | OpenAI o3-mini | Claude 4 Haiku | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 80 | 55 | o3-mini leads by 25pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 76 | 48 | o3-mini leads by 28pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 85 | 58 | o3-mini leads by 27pts |
| HumanEval | 94 | 78 | o3-mini leads by 16pts |
| BigCodeBench | 65 | 40 | o3-mini leads by 25pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | OpenAI o3-mini | Claude 4 Haiku | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.17 | $0.16 | Claude 4 Haiku saves <$0.01 (4%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $1.27 | $1.24 | Claude 4 Haiku saves $0.02 (2%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $6.33 | $6.21 | Claude 4 Haiku saves $0.12 (2%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.30 | $0.32 | OpenAI 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI o3-mini | 80 | $0.014/pt | Better value |
| Claude 4 Haiku | 55 | $0.015/pt | Higher cost per point |
OpenAI o3-mini delivers the best value at $0.014 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
OpenAI o3-mini
- + Excellent at competitive programming
- + Strong algorithmic reasoning
- - Optimized for reasoning, not chat
Claude 4 Haiku
- + Fast
- + Good value
- + Improved over 3.5 Haiku
- - Limited reasoning depth
Verdict
Claude 4 Haiku is cheaper at $0.800/M, but OpenAI o3-mini scores higher on benchmarks (80 vs 55).
Choose Claude 4 Haiku for cost-sensitive projects, OpenAI 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 3.5 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.