OpenAI o3 vs O3 Mini
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
OpenAI o3
OpenAINext generation reasoning model. Improved coding and math over o1.
| Input | $10.00/M |
| Output | $40.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Advanced coding, complex problem-solving |
| Benchmark | 85/100 |
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 | O3 Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 85 | 80 | o3 leads by 5pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 82 | 76 | o3 leads by 6pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 88 | 85 | o3 leads by 3pts |
| HumanEval | 96 | 94 | o3 leads by 2pts |
| BigCodeBench | 74 | 65 | o3 leads by 9pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | OpenAI o3 | O3 Mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $1.55 | $0.17 | O3 Mini saves $1.38 (89%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $11.50 | $1.27 | O3 Mini saves $10.23 (89%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $57.50 | $6.33 | O3 Mini saves $51.17 (89%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $2.75 | $0.30 | O3 Mini saves $2.45 (89%) |
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 | 85 | $0.167/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 o3
- + Latest reasoning model
- + Top-tier across all benchmarks
- - Very expensive
- - Slow
O3 Mini
- + Excellent at competitive programming
- + Strong algorithmic reasoning
- - Optimized for reasoning, not chat
Verdict
O3 Mini is cheaper at $1.10/M, but OpenAI o3 scores higher on benchmarks (85 vs 80).
Choose O3 Mini for cost-sensitive projects, OpenAI o3 when performance matters most.
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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