Model Comparison
o1-mini vs o3-proWhich is better in 2026?
Comparing o1-mini and o3-pro across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.
Verdict: o1-mini vs o3-pro — which is better?
o1-mini (by OpenAI) and o3-pro (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.
On price, o1-mini is roughly 6.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
o3-pro also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose o1-mini if…
- cost matters — it's about 6.7x cheaper per token
Choose o3-pro if…
- you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
o1-mini and o3-prodon'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
For input processing, o1-mini ($3.00/1M tokens) is 6.7x cheaper than o3-pro ($20.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, o1-mini ($12.00/1M tokens) is 6.7x cheaper than o3-pro ($80.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, o3-pro is more expensive than o1-mini.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
o3-pro accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to o1-mini's 128,000 tokens. o3-pro can generate longer responses up to 100,000 tokens, while o1-mini is limited to 65,536 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
o3-pro supports multimodal inputs, whereas o1-mini does not.
o3-pro can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
o1-mini
o3-pro
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
o1-mini was released on 2024-09-12, while o3-pro was released on 2025-06-10.
o3-pro is 9 months newer than o1-mini.
Sep 12, 2024
1.8 years ago
Jun 10, 2025
1.0 years ago
9mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
o3-pro has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-05-31, while o1-mini's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm o3-pro's training data extends to 2024-05-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without o1-mini's cutoff date.
—
May 2024
Provider Availability
o1-mini is available from OpenAI, Azure. o3-pro is available from OpenAI.
o1-mini
o3-pro
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
o1-mini
View detailsOpenAI
o3-pro
View detailsOpenAI
Detailed Comparison
FAQ
Common questions about o1-mini vs o3-pro.