Model Comparison
o3-mini vs GPT-4oWhich is better in 2026?
o3-mini shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. o3-mini is 2.3x cheaper per token.
Verdict: o3-mini vs GPT-4o — which is better?
o3-mini (by OpenAI) and GPT-4o (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.
o3-mini outperforms in 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH, MGSM), while GPT-4o is better at 1 benchmark (MMLU). o3-mini shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
On price, o3-mini is roughly 2.3x 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 o3-mini if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 4 shared benchmarks
- cost matters — it's about 2.3x 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
Choose GPT-4o if…
- you want predictable pricing at $2.50/M input and $10.00/M output
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
o3-mini outperforms in 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH, MGSM), while GPT-4o is better at 1 benchmark (MMLU).
o3-mini shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, o3-mini ($1.10/1M tokens) is 2.3x cheaper than GPT-4o ($2.50/1M tokens).
For output processing, o3-mini ($4.40/1M tokens) is 2.3x cheaper than GPT-4o ($10.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-4o 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-4o's 128,000 tokens. o3-mini can generate longer responses up to 100,000 tokens, while GPT-4o is limited to 4,096 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
GPT-4o supports multimodal inputs, whereas o3-mini does not.
GPT-4o can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
o3-mini
GPT-4o
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
o3-mini was released on 2025-01-30, while GPT-4o was released on 2024-05-13.
o3-mini is 9 months newer than GPT-4o.
Jan 30, 2025
1.4 years ago
8mo newerMay 13, 2024
2.1 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
o3-mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-09-30, while GPT-4o's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm o3-mini's training data extends to 2023-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without GPT-4o's cutoff date.
Sep 2023
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Provider Availability
o3-mini is available from Azure, OpenAI. GPT-4o is available from Azure, OpenAI.
o3-mini
GPT-4o
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
o3-mini
View detailsOpenAI
GPT-4o
View detailsOpenAI
o3-miniGPT-4oDetailed Comparison
FAQ
Common questions about o3-mini vs GPT-4o.