Model Comparison

Claude Opus 5 vs Grok-3 MiniWhich is better in 2026?

Comparing Claude Opus 5 and Grok-3 Mini across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Claude Opus 5 vs Grok-3 Mini — which is better?

Claude Opus 5 (by Anthropic) and Grok-3 Mini (by xAI) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

On price, Grok-3 Mini is roughly 28.6x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Claude Opus 5 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Opus 5 if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Grok-3 Mini if…

  • cost matters — it's about 28.6x cheaper per token

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Claude Opus 5 and Grok-3 Minidon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Grok-3 Mini costs less

For input processing, Claude Opus 5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 16.7x more expensive than Grok-3 Mini ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Opus 5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 50.0x more expensive than Grok-3 Mini ($0.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Opus 5 is more expensive than Grok-3 Mini.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Jul 24 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
Input tokens$5.00
Output tokens$25.00
Best providerAnthropic
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerxAI
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Opus 5 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Grok-3 Mini's 128,000 tokens. Claude Opus 5 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Grok-3 Mini is limited to 8,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Fri Jul 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Opus 5 and Grok-3 Mini support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Claude Opus 5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Grok-3 Mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.

Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.

Claude Opus 5

Proprietary

Closed source

Grok-3 Mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Opus 5 was released on 2026-07-24, while Grok-3 Mini was released on 2025-02-17.

Claude Opus 5 is 17 months newer than Grok-3 Mini.

Claude Opus 5

Jul 24, 2026

0 days ago

1.4yr newer
Grok-3 Mini

Feb 17, 2025

1.4 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok-3 Mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while Claude Opus 5's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Grok-3 Mini's training data extends to 2024-11-17, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude Opus 5's cutoff date.

Claude Opus 5

—

Grok-3 Mini

Nov 2024

Provider Availability

Claude Opus 5 is available from Anthropic. Grok-3 Mini is available from xAI.

Claude Opus 5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $5.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $25.00/1M

Grok-3 Mini

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
xAI
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
AnthropicClaude Opus 5
xAIGrok-3 Mini
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Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 5 and Grok-3 Mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Opus 5
✓ Preferred
Grok-3 Mini
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AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
xAI
Grok-3 Mini

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Opus 5 vs Grok-3 Mini.

Which is better, Claude Opus 5 or Grok-3 Mini?

Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) and Grok-3 Mini (xAI) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does Claude Opus 5 compare to Grok-3 Mini in benchmarks?

Claude Opus 5 scores BrowseComp: 90.8%, BioMysteryBench: 90.1%, OSWorld 2.0: 70.6%, DeepSWE 1.1: 68.8%, Humanity's Last Exam: 64.7%. Grok-3 Mini scores AIME 2024: 95.8%, AIME 2025: 90.8%, GPQA: 84.0%, LiveCodeBench: 80.4%.

Is Claude Opus 5 cheaper than Grok-3 Mini?

Grok-3 Mini is 16.7x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Opus 5 costs $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output via anthropic. Grok-3 Mini costs $0.30/M input and $0.50/M output via xai.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Opus 5 and Grok-3 Mini?

Claude Opus 5 supports 1.0M tokens and Grok-3 Mini supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Opus 5 and Grok-3 Mini?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 128K), input pricing ($5.00 vs $0.30/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Opus 5 and Grok-3 Mini?

Claude Opus 5 is developed by Anthropic and Grok-3 Mini is developed by xAI.

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