Model Comparison

Grok-2 mini vs o1-previewWhich is better in 2026?

o1-preview significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Grok-2 mini vs o1-preview — which is better?

Grok-2 mini (by xAI) and o1-preview (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.

Grok-2 mini outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while o1-preview is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH, MMLU). o1-preview significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Grok-2 mini if…

  • you are already invested in the xAI ecosystem

Choose o1-preview if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2024

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

Grok-2 mini outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while o1-preview is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH, MMLU).

o1-preview significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only o1-preview specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only o1-preview specifies output context (32,768 tokens).

xAI
Grok-2 mini
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
OpenAI
o1-preview
Input128,000 tokens
Output32,768 tokens
Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Grok-2 mini supports multimodal inputs, whereas o1-preview does not.

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

Grok-2 mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

o1-preview

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.

Grok-2 mini

Proprietary

Closed source

o1-preview

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-2 mini was released on 2024-08-13, while o1-preview was released on 2024-09-12.

o1-preview is 1 month newer than Grok-2 mini.

Grok-2 mini

Aug 13, 2024

1.9 years ago

o1-preview

Sep 12, 2024

1.8 years ago

1mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

xAI
Supports multimodal inputs
OpenAI
Larger context window (128,000 tokens)
Higher GPQA score (73.3% vs 51.0%)
Higher MATH score (85.5% vs 73.0%)
Higher MMLU score (90.8% vs 86.2%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Grok-2 mini and o1-preview side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok-2 mini
✓ Preferred
o1-preview
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
xAI
Grok-2 mini
OpenAI
o1-preview

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-2 mini vs o1-preview.

Which is better, Grok-2 mini or o1-preview?

o1-preview significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-2 mini is made by xAI and o1-preview is made by OpenAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Grok-2 mini compare to o1-preview in benchmarks?

Grok-2 mini scores DocVQA: 93.2%, MMLU: 86.2%, HumanEval: 85.7%, MATH: 73.0%, MMLU-Pro: 72.0%. o1-preview scores MGSM: 90.8%, MMLU: 90.8%, MATH: 85.5%, GPQA: 73.3%, LiveBench: 52.3%.

What are the context window sizes for Grok-2 mini and o1-preview?

Grok-2 mini supports an unknown number of tokens and o1-preview 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 Grok-2 mini and o1-preview?

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

Who makes Grok-2 mini and o1-preview?

Grok-2 mini is developed by xAI and o1-preview is developed by OpenAI.

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