OpenAI o3-mini vs O3 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 |
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 o3-mini | O3 Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 80 | 80 | o3-mini leads by 0pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 76 | 76 | o3-mini leads by 0pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 85 | 85 | o3-mini leads by 0pts |
| HumanEval | 94 | 94 | o3-mini leads by 0pts |
| BigCodeBench | 65 | 65 | o3-mini leads by 0pts |
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 | O3 Mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.17 | $0.17 | OpenAI o3-mini saves <$0.01 (0%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $1.27 | $1.27 | OpenAI o3-mini saves <$0.01 (0%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $6.33 | $6.33 | OpenAI o3-mini saves <$0.01 (0%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.30 | $0.30 | OpenAI o3-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 o3-mini | 80 | $0.014/pt | Better value |
| O3 Mini | 80 | $0.014/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
O3 Mini
- + Excellent at competitive programming
- + Strong algorithmic reasoning
- - Optimized for reasoning, not chat
Verdict
OpenAI o3-mini wins on both price and performance — $1.10/M input with a benchmark score of 80/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
Compare with Other Models
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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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