budget
Gpt 5 Mini vs Grok 3 Mini
Side-by-side pricing, context window, features, and per-use-case verdict. Data sourced from LiteLLM, updated regularly.
Specifications
| Feature | Gpt 5 Mini | Grok 3 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | openai | xai |
| Model ID | gpt-5-mini | xai/grok-3-mini |
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.25 (17% cheaper) | $0.30 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $2.00 | $0.50 (75% cheaper) |
| Cached input / 1M | $0.02 | $0.07 |
| Context window | 272kk tokens | 131kk tokens |
| Max output | 128kk tokens | 131kk tokens |
| Vision | ✅ | ⬜ |
| Function calling | ✅ | ✅ |
| Prompt caching | ✅ | ✅ |
| Web search | ✅ | ✅ |
| JSON schema | ✅ | ⬜ |
Monthly cost comparison
No cache discount applied — pure token costs at three usage scales.
| Scale | Gpt 5 Mini | Grok 3 Mini | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small 1M in / 0.2M out | $0.65 | $0.40 | Grok 3 Mini saves 38% |
| Medium 10M in / 2M out | $6.50 | $4.00 | Grok 3 Mini saves 38% |
| Large 100M in / 20M out | $65.00 | $40.00 | Grok 3 Mini saves 38% |
Category winners
Cheapest input
Gpt 5 Mini
$0.25/M
· 17% less than the other
Cheapest output
Grok 3 Mini
$0.50/M
· 75% less than the other
Larger context
Gpt 5 Mini
272kk tokens · 108% larger window
More features
Gpt 5 Mini
5 / 5 capabilities
Better for…
High-volume RAG & repeated context
$0.02/M cached input — prompt caching makes repeated context retrieval significantly cheaper
Gpt 5 Mini
Short interactions & high-throughput APIs
$0.50/M output — 75% cheaper on output at scale
Grok 3 Mini
Long-document processing & large codebases
272k context window vs 131k — 108% larger context
Gpt 5 Mini
Agentic workflows & tool use
Supports 5 of 5 tracked capabilities (vision, function calling, caching, web search, JSON schema)
Gpt 5 Mini
Deep-dive on each model
Pricing data sourced from LiteLLM and refreshed regularly. Always verify with each provider's official pricing page before making business decisions.