Model comparison
Inkling vs o3-mini
Head-to-head evidence from 2 shared benchmark results across 2 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Verified leaderboard positions: Inkling #17; o3-mini unranked
BenchAlign evidence: Inkling not scored; o3-mini supported. Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Inkling and o3-mini share 2 comparable benchmark results. 3 of 8 categories are comparable. 14 results are unique to Inkling; 9 to o3-mini.
Updated July 15, 2026- Shared results
- 2
- Inkling only
- 14
- o3-mini only
- 9
- Comparable categories
- 3 / 8
Pick Inkling if you want the stronger benchmark profile. o3-mini only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 2 shared benchmark results across 2 evidence categories; 3 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
Inkling is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 69 to 52. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Inkling's sharpest advantage is in coding, where it averages 68.6 against 49.3. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is SWE-bench Verified, 77.6% to 49.3%. o3-mini does hit back in knowledge, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.
Inkling is also the more expensive model on tokens at $1.87 input / $4.68 output per 1M tokens, versus $1.10 input / $4.40 output per 1M tokens for o3-mini. o3-mini is the reasoning model in the pair, while Inkling is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use. Inkling gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 200K for o3-mini.
Category breakdown
Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.
| Category | Inkling | Δ | o3-mini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Inkling51.7 | Margin→ 25.5 | o3-mini77.2 |
| Coding | Inkling68.6 | Margin← 19.3 | o3-mini49.3 |
| Inst. Following | Inkling79.8 | Margin→ 14.1 | o3-mini93.9 |
| Agentic | Inkling69.4 | MarginNo overlap | o3-miniNot measured |
| Math | Inkling97.1 | MarginNo overlap | o3-miniNot measured |
| Multimodal | Inkling76.5 | MarginNo overlap | o3-miniNot measured |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Inkling | o3-mini | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Inkling$1.87 input / $4.68 output | o3-mini$1.1 input / $4.4 output | o3-mini has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | InklingNot available | o3-mini160 tok/s | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | InklingNot available | o3-mini7.12 s | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Inkling1M | o3-mini200K | Inkling lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic5 benchmarks
CodingInkling wins5 benchmarks
Knowledgeo3-mini wins8 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Inkling | o3-mini | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQASource | 87.9% | 77.2% | Inkling leads |
| GPQA-DSource | 87.9% | — | Not comparable |
| HLESource | 46% | — | Not comparable |
| HLE w/o toolsSource | 30% | — | Not comparable |
| MMLUSource | — | 86.9% | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | — | 19.0% | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | — | 74.8% | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | — | 8.7% | Not comparable |
Math2 benchmarks
Multimodal3 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (4)
Which is better, Inkling or o3-mini?
Inkling is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 69 to 52. The biggest single separator in this matchup is SWE-bench Verified, where the scores are 77.6% and 49.3%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Inkling or o3-mini?
o3-mini has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 77.2 versus 51.7. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for coding, Inkling or o3-mini?
Inkling has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 68.6 versus 49.3. Inside this category, SWE-bench Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for instruction following, Inkling or o3-mini?
o3-mini has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 93.9 versus 79.8. Inkling stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
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