o1 (12-17) vs o3
o1 (12-17) (2024) and o3 (2025) are frontier-tier reasoning models from OpenAI. o1 (12-17) ships a 128k-token context window, while o3 ships a 200k-token context window. On Google-Proof Q&A, o3 leads by 9.7 pts. On pricing, o3 costs $2/1M input tokens versus $15/1M 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.
o3 is ~650% cheaper at $2/1M; pay for o1 (12-17) only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | o1 (12-17) | o3 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Coding, Agents, and Long context | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 128k | 200k |
| Cheapest output | $60/1M tokens | $8/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 2 tracked | 3 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 3 shared | Google-Proof Q&A leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- Local decision data tags o1 (12-17) for Coding, Agents, and Long context.
- o3 holds a shared-benchmark lead on Google-Proof Q&A, ahead by 9.7 points.
- o3 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- o3 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $8/1M tokens.
- o3 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- o3 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / Tool use in local model data.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
o1 (12-17)
$27,000
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Replicate API
o3
$3,600
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenAI API
Estimated monthly gap: $23,400. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenAI API; start route-level A/B tests there.
- o3 is $52/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- o3 adds Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / JSON / Tool use in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenAI API; start route-level A/B tests there.
- o1 (12-17) is $52/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and JSON / JSON / Tool use before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-12-17 | 2025-04-16 |
| Context window | 128k | 200k |
| Parameters | — | — |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | 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 | - | 2024-06 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | o1 (12-17) | o3 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $15/1M tokens | $2/1M tokens |
| Output price | $60/1M tokens | $8/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | o1 (12-17) | o3 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| JSON / Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | Yes |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | o1 (12-17) | o3 |
|---|---|---|
| Google-Proof Q&A | 78.0 | 87.7 |
| Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding | 78.2 | 82.9 |
| Chatbot Arena | 1385.0 | 1412.0 |
Continue comparing
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.