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.
BenchAlign evidence: o3 supported; o4-mini (high) 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. 15 results are unique to o3; 0 to o4-mini (high).
Updated July 16, 2026- Shared results
- 2
- o3 only
- 15
- o4-mini (high) only
- 0
- Comparable categories
- 1 / 8
Pick o3 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. o4-mini (high) only becomes the better choice if mathematics is the priority.
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
o3 is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 54 to 43. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
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 |
Coding2 benchmarks
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)?
o3 is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 54 to 43. 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
The AI models change fast. We track them for you.
A weekly brief for engineers and researchers covering new models, ranking shifts, and pricing changes.
Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.