Model Comparison
GPT-4 Turbo vs o3-miniWhich is better in 2026?
o3-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. o3-mini is 7.8x cheaper per token.
Verdict: GPT-4 Turbo vs o3-mini — which is better?
GPT-4 Turbo (by OpenAI) and o3-mini (by OpenAI) 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-4 Turbo outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while o3-mini is better at 4 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH, MGSM, MMLU). o3-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, o3-mini is roughly 7.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
o3-mini also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose GPT-4 Turbo if…
- you want predictable pricing at $10.00/M input and $30.00/M output
Choose o3-mini if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 4 shared benchmarks
- cost matters — it's about 7.8x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
GPT-4 Turbo outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while o3-mini is better at 4 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH, MGSM, MMLU).
o3-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GPT-4 Turbo ($10.00/1M tokens) is 9.1x more expensive than o3-mini ($1.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-4 Turbo ($30.00/1M tokens) is 6.8x more expensive than o3-mini ($4.40/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-4 Turbo is more expensive than o3-mini.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
o3-mini accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to GPT-4 Turbo's 128,000 tokens. o3-mini can generate longer responses up to 100,000 tokens, while GPT-4 Turbo is limited to 4,096 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.
Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.
Proprietary
Closed source
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GPT-4 Turbo was released on 2024-04-09, while o3-mini was released on 2025-01-30.
o3-mini is 10 months newer than GPT-4 Turbo.
Apr 9, 2024
2.2 years ago
Jan 30, 2025
1.3 years ago
9mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-4 Turbo has a knowledge cutoff of 2023-12-31, while o3-mini has a cutoff of 2023-09-30.
GPT-4 Turbo has more recent training data (up to 2023-12-31), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to o3-mini (2023-09-30).
Dec 2023
3 mo newerSep 2023
Provider Availability
GPT-4 Turbo is available from Azure, OpenAI. o3-mini is available from Azure, OpenAI.
GPT-4 Turbo
o3-mini
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
GPT-4 Turbo
View detailsOpenAI
No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.
o3-mini
View detailsOpenAI
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about GPT-4 Turbo vs o3-mini.