Model comparison
o3 vs o4-mini (high)
Head-to-head evidence from 2 shared benchmark results across 1 category. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: o3 #131 (Supported); o4-mini (high) #118 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. o3 and o4-mini (high) share 2 comparable benchmark results. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 14 results are unique to o3; 0 to o4-mini (high).
Updated July 22, 2026- Shared results
- 2
- o3 only
- 14
- o4-mini (high) only
- 0
- Comparable categories
- 1 / 8
Pick o4-mini (high) if you want the stronger benchmark profile. o3 only becomes the better choice if its workflow or ecosystem matters more than the raw scoreboard.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 2 shared benchmark results across 1 evidence category; 1 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
o4-mini (high) has the cleaner BenchAlign overall profile here, landing at 49.98 versus 47.89. It is a real lead, but still close enough that category-level strengths matter more than the headline number.
o4-mini (high)'s sharpest advantage is in mathematics, where it averages 20.2 against 14.5. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3), 18.685% to 24.828%.
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 | o3 | Δ | o4-mini (high) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | o314.5 | Margin→ 5.7 | o4-mini (high)20.2 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)
MathA 18.685%B 24.828%Winner: o4-mini (high)Δ 6.1FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3): o3 scored 18.685%; o4-mini (high) scored 24.828%. o4-mini (high) wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)
MathA 2.083%B 6.250%Winner: o4-mini (high)Δ 4.2FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4): o3 scored 2.083%; o4-mini (high) scored 6.250%. o4-mini (high) wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | o3 | o4-mini (high) | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | o3$2 input / $8 output | o4-mini (high)Not available | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | o3118 tok/s | o4-mini (high)161 tok/s | o4-mini (high) has the higher measured throughput. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | o35.38 s | o4-mini (high)21.94 s | o3 reaches the first token sooner. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | o3200K | o4-mini (high)200K | Listed context windows are equal. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | o3 | o4-mini (high) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-bench resultsSource | 80.7% | — | Not comparable |
Coding1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | o3 | o4-mini (high) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-SciCodeSource | 41.0% | — | Not comparable |
Reasoning2 benchmarks
Knowledge6 benchmarks
| Benchmark | o3 | o4-mini (high) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 30.4% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 82.7% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | 20.0% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -15.3% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 38.4% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 87.1% | — | Not comparable |
Matho4-mini (high) wins3 benchmarks
Multimodal2 benchmarks
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | o3 | o4-mini (high) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | 71.4% | — | Not comparable |
Frequently Asked Questions (2)
Which is better, o3 or o4-mini (high)?
o4-mini (high) is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 49.98 to 47.89. The biggest single separator in this matchup is FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3), where the scores are 18.685% and 24.828%.
Which is better for math, o3 or o4-mini (high)?
o4-mini (high) has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 20.2 versus 14.5. Inside this category, FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3) is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Related Comparisons
Explore More
Choose a model with this week’s evidence
Join 2,000+ readers for ranking moves, pricing changes, and the claims that still need proof.
One email each week. Unsubscribe anytime.