o3 Mini vs o4-mini
o3 Mini (2025) and o4-mini (2025) are frontier-tier reasoning models from OpenAI. o3 Mini ships a 200k-token context window, while o4-mini ships a 200k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, o4-mini leads by 4.1 pts. On pricing, o4-mini costs $1/1M input tokens versus $1.10/1M 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.
Pick o4-mini for general evaluation; o3 Mini is better when coding workflow support matters more.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | o3 Mini | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 200k | 200k |
| Cheapest output | $4.40/1M tokens | $4/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 4 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 4 shared | MMLU PRO leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- Local decision data tags o3 Mini for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- o4-mini holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 4.1 points.
- o4-mini has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $4/1M tokens.
- o4-mini uniquely exposes Vision and Multimodal in local model data.
- Local decision data tags o4-mini 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.
o3 Mini
$1,980
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
o4-mini
$1,800
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Replicate API
Estimated monthly gap: $180. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenAI API, OpenRouter, and Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
- o4-mini is $0.40/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- o4-mini adds Vision and Multimodal in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter, OpenAI API, and Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
- o3 Mini is $0.40/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision and Multimodal before moving production traffic.
Specs
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | o3 Mini | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $1.10/1M tokens | $1/1M tokens |
| Output price | $4.40/1M tokens | $4/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | o3 Mini | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | Yes |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | o3 Mini | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 79.1 | 83.2 |
| SWE-bench Verified | 49.3 | 68.1 |
| Google-Proof Q&A | 79.7 | 81.4 |
| Aider Polyglot | 60.4 | 72.0 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has o3 Mini at 79.1 and o4-mini at 83.2, with o4-mini ahead by 4.1 points; SWE-bench Verified has o3 Mini at 49.3 and o4-mini at 68.1, with o4-mini ahead by 18.8 points; Google-Proof Q&A has o3 Mini at 79.7 and o4-mini at 81.4, with o4-mini ahead by 1.7 points. The largest visible gap is 18.8 points on SWE-bench Verified, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on vision: o4-mini and multimodal input: o4-mini. Both models share reasoning mode, function calling, tool use, and structured outputs, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, o3 Mini lists $1.10/1M input and $4.40/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while o4-mini lists $1/1M input and $4/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts o4-mini lower by about $0.19 per million blended tokens. Availability is 4 providers versus 4, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose o3 Mini when coding workflow support are central to the workload. Choose o4-mini when coding workflow support and lower input-token cost are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, o3 Mini or o4-mini?
o3 Mini supports 200k tokens, while o4-mini supports 200k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is cheaper, o3 Mini or o4-mini?
o4-mini is cheaper on tracked token pricing. o3 Mini costs $1.10/1M input and $4.40/1M output tokens. o4-mini costs $1/1M input and $4/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is o3 Mini or o4-mini open source?
o3 Mini is listed under Proprietary. o4-mini is listed under Proprietary. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for vision, o3 Mini or o4-mini?
o4-mini has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is better for multimodal input, o3 Mini or o4-mini?
o4-mini has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run o3 Mini and o4-mini?
o3 Mini is available on OpenRouter, Azure OpenAI, OpenAI API, and Vercel AI Gateway. o4-mini is available on OpenAI API, OpenRouter, Replicate API, and Vercel AI Gateway. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-06-15. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.