OpenAI o3-mini vs Grok 3 Mini
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 |
Grok 3 Mini
xAICost-effective xAI model for high-volume tasks. Good balance of capability and affordability.
| Input | $0.300/M |
| Output | $0.500/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | High-volume tasks, simple coding, cost-sensitive projects |
| Benchmark | 50/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | OpenAI o3-mini | Grok 3 Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 80 | 50 | o3-mini leads by 30pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 76 | 42 | o3-mini leads by 34pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 85 | 52 | o3-mini leads by 33pts |
| HumanEval | 94 | 72 | o3-mini leads by 22pts |
| BigCodeBench | 65 | 36 | o3-mini leads by 29pts |
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 | Grok 3 Mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.17 | $0.03 | Grok 3 Mini saves $0.15 (85%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $1.27 | $0.21 | Grok 3 Mini saves $1.06 (84%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $6.33 | $1.02 | Grok 3 Mini saves $5.30 (84%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.30 | $0.07 | Grok 3 Mini saves $0.24 (79%) |
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 | Higher cost per point |
| Grok 3 Mini | 50 | $0.006/pt | Better value |
Grok 3 Mini delivers the best value at $0.006 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
OpenAI o3-mini
- + Excellent at competitive programming
- + Strong algorithmic reasoning
- - Optimized for reasoning, not chat
Grok 3 Mini
- + Budget option
- + Fast
- - Limited capabilities
Verdict
Grok 3 Mini is cheaper at $0.300/M, but OpenAI o3-mini scores higher on benchmarks (80 vs 50).
Choose Grok 3 Mini for cost-sensitive projects, OpenAI 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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