Grok 3 Mini vs Grok 4.3
Grok 3 Mini (2025) and Grok 4.3 (2026) are frontier reasoning models from xAI. Grok 3 Mini ships a 131k-token context window, while Grok 4.3 ships a 1m-token context window. On pricing, Grok 3 Mini costs $0.25/1M input tokens; Grok 4.3 ranges from $1.25 to $2.50/1M input tokens by tier. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Grok 4.3 fits 8x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and Grok 3 Mini for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Grok 3 Mini | Grok 4.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | RAG, Long context, and Vision | RAG, Agents, and Long context |
| Context window | 131k | 1m |
| Cheapest output | $1.27/1M tokens | $2.50/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 2 tracked | 5 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 4.3 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Grok 4.3 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Grok 4.3 uniquely exposes Reasoning and JSON / Tool use in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Grok 4.3 for RAG, Agents, and Long context.
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 4.3
$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 OpenRouter and Microsoft Foundry; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Grok 4.3 is $1.23/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Grok 4.3 adds Reasoning and JSON / Tool use 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 and JSON / Tool use before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-02-17 | 2026-05-06 |
| Context window | 131k | 1m |
| Parameters | — | ~0.5T |
| Architecture | - | - |
| 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 | 2024-11 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Grok 3 Mini | Grok 4.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.25/1M tokens |
|
| Output price | $1.27/1M tokens |
|
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Grok 3 Mini | Grok 4.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| JSON / Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| 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: 2026-10-08. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.