Model Comparison

GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Grok-2 miniWhich is better in 2026?

Grok-2 mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Grok-2 mini — which is better?

GPT-3.5 Turbo (by OpenAI) and Grok-2 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.

GPT-3.5 Turbo outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-2 mini is better at 6 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval, MATH, MathVista, MMLU, MMMU). Grok-2 mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose GPT-3.5 Turbo if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.50/M input and $1.50/M output

Choose Grok-2 mini if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 6 of 6 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2024

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

6 benchmarks

GPT-3.5 Turbo outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-2 mini is better at 6 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval, MATH, MathVista, MMLU, MMMU).

Grok-2 mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Mon Jun 29 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only GPT-3.5 Turbo specifies input context (16,385 tokens). Only GPT-3.5 Turbo specifies output context (4,096 tokens).

OpenAI
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Input16,385 tokens
Output4,096 tokens
xAI
Grok-2 mini
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Mon Jun 29 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Grok-2 mini supports multimodal inputs, whereas GPT-3.5 Turbo does not.

Grok-2 mini can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

GPT-3.5 Turbo

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Grok-2 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.

GPT-3.5 Turbo

Proprietary

Closed source

Grok-2 mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-3.5 Turbo was released on 2023-03-21, while Grok-2 mini was released on 2024-08-13.

Grok-2 mini is 17 months newer than GPT-3.5 Turbo.

GPT-3.5 Turbo

Mar 21, 2023

3.3 years ago

Grok-2 mini

Aug 13, 2024

1.9 years ago

1.4yr newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-3.5 Turbo has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2021-09-30, while Grok-2 mini's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm GPT-3.5 Turbo's training data extends to 2021-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without Grok-2 mini's cutoff date.

GPT-3.5 Turbo

Sep 2021

Grok-2 mini

—

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (16,385 tokens)
xAI
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (51.0% vs 30.8%)
Higher HumanEval score (85.7% vs 68.0%)
Higher MATH score (73.0% vs 43.1%)
Higher MathVista score (68.1% vs 0.0%)
Higher MMLU score (86.2% vs 69.8%)
Higher MMMU score (63.2% vs 0.0%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against GPT-3.5 Turbo and Grok-2 mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

GPT-3.5 Turbo
✓ Preferred
Grok-2 mini
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-3.5 Turbo
xAI
Grok-2 mini

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Grok-2 mini.

Which is better, GPT-3.5 Turbo or Grok-2 mini?

Grok-2 mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-3.5 Turbo is made by OpenAI and Grok-2 mini is made by xAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does GPT-3.5 Turbo compare to Grok-2 mini in benchmarks?

GPT-3.5 Turbo scores DROP: 70.2%, MMLU: 69.8%, HumanEval: 68.0%, MGSM: 56.3%, MATH: 43.1%. Grok-2 mini scores DocVQA: 93.2%, MMLU: 86.2%, HumanEval: 85.7%, MATH: 73.0%, MMLU-Pro: 72.0%.

What are the context window sizes for GPT-3.5 Turbo and Grok-2 mini?

GPT-3.5 Turbo supports 16K tokens and Grok-2 mini supports an unknown number of tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between GPT-3.5 Turbo and Grok-2 mini?

Key differences include multimodal support (no vs yes). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes GPT-3.5 Turbo and Grok-2 mini?

GPT-3.5 Turbo is developed by OpenAI and Grok-2 mini is developed by xAI.

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