Model comparison
MAI-Thinking-1 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.
Public leaderboard positions: MAI-Thinking-1 unranked (Not scored); o3-mini #136 (Supported). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. MAI-Thinking-1 and o3-mini share 2 comparable benchmark results. 3 of 8 categories are comparable. 11 results are unique to MAI-Thinking-1; 8 to o3-mini.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 2
- MAI-Thinking-1 only
- 11
- o3-mini only
- 8
- Comparable categories
- 3 / 8
Treat this as a split decision. MAI-Thinking-1 makes more sense if coding is the priority or you need the larger 256K context window; o3-mini is the better fit if instruction following is the priority.
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
MAI-Thinking-1 and o3-mini finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.
MAI-Thinking-1 gives you the larger context window at 256K, 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 | MAI-Thinking-1 | Δ | o3-mini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | MAI-Thinking-165.5 | Margin← 16.2 | o3-mini49.3 |
| Inst. Following | MAI-Thinking-185.0 | Margin→ 8.9 | o3-mini93.9 |
| Knowledge | MAI-Thinking-172.5 | Margin→ 4.7 | o3-mini77.2 |
| Agentic | MAI-Thinking-146.0 | MarginNo overlap | o3-miniNot measured |
| Math | MAI-Thinking-189.7 | MarginNo overlap | o3-miniNot measured |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
SWE-bench Verified
CodingA 73.5%B 49.3%Winner: MAI-Thinking-1Δ 24.2SWE-bench Verified: MAI-Thinking-1 scored 73.5%; o3-mini scored 49.3%. MAI-Thinking-1 wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
GPQA
KnowledgeA 84.2%B 77.2%Winner: MAI-Thinking-1Δ 7GPQA: MAI-Thinking-1 scored 84.2%; o3-mini scored 77.2%. MAI-Thinking-1 wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | MAI-Thinking-1 | o3-mini | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | MAI-Thinking-1Not available | o3-mini$1.1 input / $4.4 output | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | MAI-Thinking-1Not available | o3-mini160 tok/s | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | MAI-Thinking-1Not available | o3-mini7.12 s | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | MAI-Thinking-1256K | o3-mini200K | MAI-Thinking-1 lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic2 benchmarks
CodingMAI-Thinking-1 wins4 benchmarks
Reasoning1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | MAI-Thinking-1 | o3-mini | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphwalks BFS 128KSource | 90% | — | Not comparable |
Knowledgeo3-mini wins8 benchmarks
| Benchmark | MAI-Thinking-1 | o3-mini | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQASource | 84.2% | 77.2% | MAI-Thinking-1 leads |
| GPQA-DSource | 84.2% | — | Not comparable |
| MMLU-ProSource | 85% | — | Not comparable |
| SimpleQASource | 31% | — | 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 |
Math4 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (4)
Which is better, MAI-Thinking-1 or o3-mini?
MAI-Thinking-1 and o3-mini are tied on the BenchAlign overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, MAI-Thinking-1 or o3-mini?
o3-mini has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 77.2 versus 72.5. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for coding, MAI-Thinking-1 or o3-mini?
MAI-Thinking-1 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 65.5 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, MAI-Thinking-1 or o3-mini?
o3-mini has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 93.9 versus 85. MAI-Thinking-1 stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
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