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Grok-4 vs o4-mini

Grok-4 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. o4-mini is 3.1x cheaper per token.

xAI · OpenAI · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Grok-4 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam), while o4-mini is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2025). Grok-4 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

On price, o4-mini is roughly 3.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Grok-4 also accepts a larger context window (256,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose Grok-4

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 256,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2025

Choose o4-mini

  • cost matters — it's about 3.1x cheaper per token

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Grok-4
xAI
o4-mini
OpenAI
Benchmark wins
2 of 3
1 of 3
Input price
$3.00 / M
$1.10 / M
Output price
$15.00 / M
$4.40 / M
Context window
256,000
200,000
Released
Jul 2025
Apr 2025
License
Proprietary
Proprietary

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

Grok-4 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam), while o4-mini is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2025).

Grok-4 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Wed Aug 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Playground indexes and blind preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

o4-mini costs less

For input processing, Grok-4 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 2.7x more expensive than o4-mini ($1.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Grok-4 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 3.4x more expensive than o4-mini ($4.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Grok-4 is more expensive than o4-mini.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Wed Aug 26 2026 • llm-stats.com
xAI
Grok-4
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerxAI
OpenAI
o4-mini
Input tokens$1.10
Output tokens$4.40
Best providerOpenAI
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Grok-4 accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to o4-mini's 200,000 tokens. o4-mini can generate longer responses up to 100,000 tokens, while Grok-4 is limited to 8,000 tokens.

xAI
Grok-4
Input256,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
OpenAI
o4-mini
Input200,000 tokens
Output100,000 tokens
Wed Aug 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Grok-4 and o4-mini support multimodal inputs.

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

Grok-4

Text
Images
Audio
Video

o4-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.

Grok-4

Proprietary

Closed source

o4-mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-4 was released on 2025-07-09, while o4-mini was released on 2025-04-16.

Grok-4 is 3 months newer than o4-mini.

Grok-4

Jul 9, 2025

1.1 years ago

2mo newer
o4-mini

Apr 16, 2025

1.4 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok-4 has a knowledge cutoff of 2024-12-31, while o4-mini has a cutoff of 2024-05-31.

Grok-4 has more recent training data (up to 2024-12-31), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to o4-mini (2024-05-31).

Grok-4

Dec 2024

7 mo newer
o4-mini

May 2024

Provider Availability

Grok-4 is available from xAI. o4-mini is available from OpenAI.

Grok-4

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

o4-mini

openai logo
OpenAI
Input Price:Input: $1.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $4.40/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Grok-4 and o4-mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok-4
✓ Preferred
o4-mini
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-4 vs o4-mini.

Which is better, Grok-4 or o4-mini?

Grok-4 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Grok-4 is made by xAI and o4-mini is made by OpenAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Grok-4 compare to o4-mini in benchmarks?

Grok-4 scores AIME 2025: 91.7%, HMMT25: 90.0%, GPQA: 87.5%, LiveCodeBench: 79.0%, Humanity's Last Exam: 40.0%. o4-mini scores AIME 2024: 93.4%, AIME 2025: 92.7%, MathVista: 84.3%, MMMU: 81.6%, GPQA: 81.4%.

Is Grok-4 cheaper than o4-mini?

o4-mini is 2.7x cheaper for input tokens. Grok-4 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via xai. o4-mini costs $1.10/M input and $4.40/M output via openai.

What are the context window sizes for Grok-4 and o4-mini?

Grok-4 supports 256K tokens and o4-mini supports 200K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Grok-4 and o4-mini?

Key differences include context window (256K vs 200K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $1.10/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Grok-4 and o4-mini?

Grok-4 is developed by xAI and o4-mini is developed by OpenAI.

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