Grok 3 Mini vs Grok 4
Grok 3 Mini (2025) and Grok 4 (2025) are frontier reasoning models from xAI. Grok 3 Mini ships a 131k-token context window, while Grok 4 ships a 256k-token context window. On pricing, Grok 3 Mini costs $0.25/1M input tokens versus $1.25/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Grok 3 Mini is ~400% cheaper at $0.25/1M; pay for Grok 4 only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Grok 3 Mini | Grok 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | RAG, Long context, and Vision | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 131k | 256k |
| Cheapest output | $1.27/1M tokens | $2.50/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 2 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Grok 3 Mini has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $1.27/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Grok 3 Mini for RAG, Long context, and Vision.
- Grok 4 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Grok 4 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Grok 4 uniquely exposes Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Grok 4 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Grok 3 Mini
$518
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Microsoft Foundry
Grok 4
$1,625
Cheapest tracked route/tier: xAI Console
Estimated monthly gap: $1,108. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on Microsoft Foundry and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Grok 4 is $1.23/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Grok 4 adds Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Code execution in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Microsoft Foundry; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Grok 3 Mini is $1.23/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Code execution before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-02-17 | 2025-07-09 |
| Context window | 131k | 256k |
| Parameters | — | — |
| Architecture | - | Decoder Only |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Openness | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Weights | Not released | Not released |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-11 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Grok 3 Mini | Grok 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.25/1M tokens | $1.25/1M tokens |
| Output price | $1.27/1M tokens | $2.50/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Grok 3 Mini | Grok 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| JSON / Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | No | Yes |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-10. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.