o3 vs o4-mini (Azure): API Cost Comparison
Compare the API pricing, context windows, features, and real-world cost projections for o3 (OpenAI) and o4-mini (Azure) (Azure OpenAI). Use the interactive calculator below to compute your exact monthly cost based on your token usage and request volume.
Prices verified Mar 11, 2026
Interactive Cost Calculator
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Showing costs for 2 models. Cheapest: o4-mini (Azure) at $33.00/month.
| Alert | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Besto4-mini (Azure) | Azure OpenAI | $33.00 | $0.003300 | $11.00 | $22.00 | 45.0% | Alerts coming soon |
o3 | OpenAI | $60.00 | $0.006000 | $20.00 | $40.00 | — | Alerts coming soon |
Monthly Cost Comparison
Price Comparison at a Glance
All prices are in USD per 1 million tokens ($/M tokens). Lower is cheaper.
| Pricing Type | o3 | o4-mini (Azure) | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input (standard) | $2.00/M | $1.10/M | o4-mini (Azure) |
| Output | $8.00/M | $4.40/M | o4-mini (Azure) |
| Cached input | $0.50/M | N/A | — |
Prices last verified: 2026-03-06 – 2026-03-11
Cost Breakdown by Usage Volume
Estimated monthly costs at different request volumes, assuming 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request. Adjust in the calculator above for your specific use case.
| Volume | o3Monthly | o4-mini (Azure)Monthly | o3Per request | o4-mini (Azure)Per request |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1K requests/mo | $6.00 | $3.30 | $0.006000 | $0.003300 |
| 10K requests/mo | $60.00 | $33.00 | $0.006000 | $0.003300 |
| 100K requests/mo | $600.00 | $330.00 | $0.006000 | $0.003300 |
| 1M requests/mo | $6,000.00 | $3,300.00 | $0.006000 | $0.003300 |
Green values indicate the lower-cost option at each volume tier. Cost per request is calculated at 1,000 input + 500 output tokens using standard (non-batch, non-cached) pricing.
Price History
Input price per 1M tokensWhen to Choose o3
by OpenAI
- Code generation
- Document summarization
Input / 1M tokens
$2.00/M
Output / 1M tokens
$8.00/M
Context window
200,000
Tier
reasoning
When to Choose o4-mini (Azure)
by Azure OpenAI
- Code generation
- Text classification
- Rag Retrieval
Input / 1M tokens
$1.10/M
Output / 1M tokens
$4.40/M
Context window
200,000
Tier
reasoning
Key Differences Beyond Price
Cost is only one factor in choosing an AI model. Context window size, rate limits, supported features, and latency all affect whether a model fits your use case.
| Capability | o3 | o4-mini (Azure) |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 200,000 tokens | 200,000 tokens |
| Max output tokens | 100,000 tokens | 100,000 tokens |
| Performance tier | Reasoning | Reasoning |
| Vision / image input | Yes | Yes |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| JSON mode | Yes | Yes |
| Prompt caching | Yes | No |
| Batch API (50% discount) | No | No |
| Extended reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Fine-tuning | No | No |
| Rate limit (req/min) | 1,000 | Not published |
o3 notes
State-of-the-art reasoning performance. Costs reflect internal thinking tokens. Price reduced significantly from launch.
o4-mini (Azure) notes
o4-mini reasoning model via Azure OpenAI Service. Cost-efficient reasoning for enterprise workloads. Excellent for coding and analytical tasks at scale on Azure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is o3 cheaper than o4-mini (Azure)?
At standard usage (1,000 input tokens, 500 output tokens, 100,000 requests/month), o4-mini (Azure) costs $330.00/month versus $600.00/month for o3 — a 45% saving. Your actual savings will vary based on your token profile; output-heavy workloads amplify differences in output pricing.
Which model has a larger context window, o3 or o4-mini (Azure)?
Both o3 and o4-mini (Azure) have the same context window: 200,000 tokens.
Do o3 and o4-mini (Azure) support the Batch API?
Neither o3 nor o4-mini (Azure) currently supports a batch API with discounted pricing. For batch-eligible alternatives, consider models from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google that include batch API support.
Which model offers better prompt caching?
o3 supports prompt caching at $0.50/M for cached input, while o4-mini (Azure) does not offer prompt caching. For RAG applications or chatbots with large, repeated context, o3's caching capability can substantially reduce effective costs.
What are the best use cases for o3 vs o4-mini (Azure)?
Both models are well-suited for Code generation. o3 is particularly strong for Document summarization. o4-mini (Azure) is favored for Text classification, Rag Retrieval. At the same quality level, the lower-cost model is usually preferable; use this page's calculator to compare total monthly spend at your volume.
What is the cost per request for o3 vs o4-mini (Azure)?
At 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request — a typical conversational workload — o3 costs $0.006000 per request and o4-mini (Azure) costs $0.003300 per request. At 100,000 requests/month, that translates to $600.00 and $330.00 respectively. Use the interactive calculator to adjust these parameters for your actual workload.
o3 vs o4-mini (Azure): Summary
When comparing o3 and o4-mini (Azure) for API cost, the right choice depends on your workload's token profile, required features, and tolerance for latency. o4-mini (Azure) offers lower total cost at standard usage volumes (1,000 input + 500 output tokens per request at 100,000 requests/month) at $330.00/month, compared to $600.00/month for o3.
Both models are priced in USD per million tokens, the standard unit across all major AI API providers. o3 charges $2.00/M for input tokens and $8.00/M for output tokens. o4-mini (Azure) charges $1.10/M input and $4.40/M output. If your workload is output-heavy (more tokens generated than consumed as input), the model with the lower output price compounds cost savings significantly at scale.
Prompt caching is supported by o3 but not o4-mini (Azure). For workloads with large, repeated system prompts or document context — such as RAG pipelines or multi-turn conversations with a fixed knowledge base — prompt caching can reduce effective input costs by 60–90%, which may change the cost ranking between these two models at your specific usage pattern.
Context window capacity differs between the two: Both models support 200,000 tokens per request. A larger context window is essential for document summarization, large codebase analysis, and multi-document retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications.
Use the interactive calculator at the top of this page to enter your actual token usage and monthly request volume for a precise cost comparison tailored to your workload. Adjust for batch API discounts and prompt caching to find the most cost-effective option for your specific deployment.
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Relevant Use Cases
See cost recommendations for workloads where o3 or o4-mini (Azure) is recommended.