Grok-3 vs Grok 3 Mini
Benchmarks, API Token Pricing, Context Window & Speed Comparison
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Grok-3 by xAI and Grok 3 Mini by xAI represent two of the frontier AI models analyzed in our comprehensive 2026 AI benchmark and LLM comparison. In this head-to-head evaluation, we examine API token pricing, context window specifications, inference speed (tokens per second), and empirical reasoning performance. From a pure economic perspective, Grok 3 Mini holds a notable pricing advantage for token ingestion. On output generation, Grok 3 Mini is more economical per million generated tokens. In data-heavy architectures requiring extensive repository or document analysis, Grok-3 provides an expanded memory horizon with 1,000K tokens. In latency-sensitive production environments, Grok-3 leads in tokens-per-second throughput, making it ideal for real-time conversational agents and high-concurrency workflows. Below is the complete empirical head-to-head breakdown across cost, speed, context, and capability matrices.
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Grok-3
Frontier Colossus KingxAI’s premier frontier model trained on 200,000+ Nvidia GPUs, introducing deep thinking deliberation modes, competitive math mastery, and native coding agents.
$3.00 / 1M
$15.00 / 1M
1M tokens
65.2%
Grok 3 Mini
High-Velocity ReasoningxAI's lightweight reasoning model offering rapid-fire thinking logic, math problem solving, and agentic speed at budget-friendly pricing.
$0.30 / 1M
$1.20 / 1M
131.1K tokens
56.4%
Key Differences at a Glance
- Grok 3 Mini is 11.6x cheaper for API usage (input + output tokens combined).
- Grok-3 has a larger context window (1M vs 131K tokens).
- Grok-3 is faster at 95 tok/s vs 90 tok/s.
- Grok-3 leads on SWE-bench coding (65.2% vs 56.4%).
| Feature | Grok-3 | Grok 3 Mini |
|---|---|---|
Intelligence Index Composite reasoning & knowledge score (0-100) | 54 | 47 |
Provider | xAI | xAI |
Input Price Cost per million input tokens | $3.00 / 1M | $0.30 / 1M |
Output Price Cost per million output tokens | $15.00 / 1M | $1.20 / 1M |
Blended Price Weighted 7:2:1 cache:input:output per 1M | $2.63 / 1M | $0.23 / 1M |
Context Window Maximum input + output tokens | 1M tokens~1,500 A4 pages of text | 131.1K tokens~197 A4 pages of text |
Max Output Tokens Per single request | 33K | 16K |
Throughput Speed Tokens generated per second | 95 tok/s | 90 tok/s |
SWE-bench Verified Real-world software engineering | 65.2% | 56.4% |
GPQA Diamond Graduate-level reasoning | 74% | 68.4% |
Cached Input Price Prompt caching discount per 1M tokens | $0.75 / 1M | $0.07 / 1M |
Who Wins Where?
At-a-glance decision frameworkEmpirical Head-to-Head Benchmark Scores
Official evaluation metrics verified by independent third-party research labs.
Industry benchmark evaluating real-world GitHub issue resolution and multi-file debugging.
Challenging questions created by domain experts to test complex PhD-level reasoning.
Hardened reasoning and academic knowledge benchmark with reduced lucky-guess probability.
Crowdsourced human preference evaluation based on blind, head-to-head model battles.
Extremely difficult, closed-ended questions spanning the frontier of human expert knowledge.
Autonomous multi-step tasks executed inside a real command-line terminal environment.
Research-grade coding problems drawn from real scientific and numerical workloads.
Contamination-free competitive programming problems collected continuously over time.
American Invitational Mathematics Examination — multi-step Olympiad-level reasoning.
Accuracy when reasoning over very large inputs that fill the model context window.
Tokens emitted per second during active generation streaming.
Latency & Response Time
Time to first token (TTFT) and estimated end-to-end response time for a typical 500-token response.
Real-Time Interactive Token Cost Simulator
Adjust sliders to calculate projected monthly cloud API spending with prompt caching discounts.
Grok-3 · Strengths & Key Advantages
- Built upon the expanded 200K H100/H200 Colossus compute fabric
- Outstanding competitive programming and AIME mathematics benchmark scores
- 1,000,000 token context window with native reasoning effort toggles
Considerations & Trade-offs
- Requires substantial reasoning time during extended thinking passes
- Higher enterprise cost per prompt
Grok 3 Mini · Strengths & Key Advantages
- Matches or exceeds OpenAI o3-mini in competitive coding benchmarks
- Configurable thinking budget slider for balancing speed vs depth
- Fast inference throughput (90 tok/s) while generating reasoning chains
- Low cost compared to flagship Grok 3
Considerations & Trade-offs
- No native image or video processing (text-only)
- Requires active xAI enterprise API key
Token Use & Task Economics
Estimated cost and token consumption to complete one representative agentic task.
| Metric | Grok-3 | Grok 3 Mini |
|---|---|---|
Cost per Task Estimated USD to finish one task | $0.20 | $0.32 |
Output Tokens / Task Tokens generated per task | 24K | 26K |
Reasoning Tokens / Task Thinking tokens burned per task | 15K | 18K |
Technical Specifications
Architecture, release timeline, capabilities, and modalities.
| Feature | Grok-3 | Grok 3 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Official API Model ID (SDK) | grok-3-latest | grok-3-mini-latest |
| API Protocol | xAI REST API (OpenAI-Compatible) | xAI REST API (OpenAI-Compatible) |
| Release Date | 2025-02 | 2025-02 |
| Knowledge Cutoff | Late 2024 | November 2024 |
| Architecture | Hybrid Reasoning Deep MoE | Reasoning Optimized Hybrid Transformer |
| Parameters | Confidential | Confidential |
| Enterprise Rate Limits (RPM / TPM) | 5,000 – 15,000 RPM (Production Tier) · 4,000,000 – 10,000,000 TPM | 5,000 – 15,000 RPM (Production Tier) · 800,000 – 2,000,000 TPM |
| Long-Context Tier (>128K/200K) | Flat rate ($3/1M in) across full 1000K window | Flat rate ($0.3/1M in) across full 131K window |
| Prompt Cache Policy & TTL | Cached input at $0.75/1M tokens | Cached input at $0.075/1M tokens |
| Computer Use / GUI Agent | API / CLI Tool-Use & DOM Agent ready (no raw pixel desktop click loop) | API / CLI Tool-Use & DOM Agent ready (no raw pixel desktop click loop) |
| MCP & Parallel Tool Calling | Native MCP Client/Server ready · Parallel function calling · 100% Strict JSON Schema | Native MCP Client/Server ready · Parallel function calling · 100% Strict JSON Schema |
| Web Search Grounding & Sandbox | Real-time Web & X (Twitter) Search Grounding + Code Execution | Real-time Web & X (Twitter) Search Grounding + Code Execution |
| Official Fine-Tuning Support | API Prompt Engineering & RAG Distillation | API Prompt Engineering & RAG Distillation |
| Multimodal Token Billing | Text BPE (~4 chars/token) · Vision (~258–765 tokens per image tile) | Text BPE (~4 chars/token) |
| Quantization & Min GPU VRAM | Cloud-Hosted Proprietary (FP8 / BF16 Tensor Core Cluster) · Zero Local VRAM Required (100% Serverless Cloud API) | Cloud-Hosted Proprietary (FP8 / BF16 Tensor Core Cluster) · Zero Local VRAM Required (100% Serverless Cloud API) |
| Safety & Frontier Classification | xAI Production Safety & Alignment Verified | xAI Production Safety & Alignment Verified |
| Enterprise Compliance (ZDR/HIPAA/SOC2) | SOC2 Type II · GDPR · Zero Data Retention (ZDR) & HIPAA BAA Available on Enterprise Tier | SOC2 Type II · GDPR · Zero Data Retention (ZDR) & HIPAA BAA Available on Enterprise Tier |
| Input Modalities | text, vision | text |
| Output Modalities | text | text |
Grok-3 vs Grok 3 Mini: Quick Answers
Which is more intelligent, Grok-3 or Grok 3 Mini?
Grok-3 is more intelligent. It scores 54 compared with 47 on the composite Intelligence Index.
Which model is faster?
Grok-3 is faster, generating 95 tokens per second compared with 90 tokens per second.
Which model is cheaper to run?
Grok 3 Mini is cheaper at $0.23 per 1M tokens blended, compared with $2.63 (7:2:1 cache:input:output ratio).
Which model has lower latency?
Grok 3 Mini has lower latency, with a time to first token of 0.51s compared with 1.10s.
Which model has a larger context window?
Grok-3 has a larger context window, supporting 1M tokens compared with 131.1K tokens.
Verdict
Verdict & Model Selection Recommendation: Choose Grok-3 if your priority is Frontier algorithmic development, complex technical architecture, and mathematical proofs. Its performance in demanding tasks justifies its operational token cost. Choose Grok 3 Mini if your workflow prioritizes Automated code reviews, real-time debugging agents, and mathematical data analysis. For large-scale batch processing or customer-facing conversational interfaces, its balance of speed and economics delivers superior ROI.
Frequently asked questions
How does Grok-3 compare to Grok 3 Mini in API token pricing and cost per token?+
Grok-3 costs $3.00 per 1M input tokens and $15.00 per 1M output tokens, whereas Grok 3 Mini costs $0.30 input and $1.20 output. Overall, Grok 3 Mini is the more cost-effective model for high-volume API pipelines. Both models support prompt caching discounts of up to 90% for repeated prompt prefixes.
Which model has a larger context window: Grok-3 or Grok 3 Mini?+
Grok-3 supports a context window of 1,000K tokens (~750k words), while Grok 3 Mini supports 131K tokens (~98k words). Therefore, Grok-3 can process more textual data and document context in a single prompt.
Which AI model is better for software engineering and coding: Grok-3 or Grok 3 Mini?+
Grok-3 scores 65.2% on SWE-bench Verified while Grok 3 Mini scores 56.4%. For autonomous software engineering and multi-file debugging, Grok-3 holds the verified benchmark lead.
What is the difference in reasoning capability and extended thinking between Grok-3 and Grok 3 Mini?+
Grok-3 features native chain-of-thought extended thinking mode with configurable reasoning effort. In contrast, Grok 3 Mini provides chain-of-thought reasoning depth for complex math and science.
How does inference speed (tokens per second) compare between Grok-3 and Grok 3 Mini?+
Grok-3 generates approximately 95 tokens per second, while Grok 3 Mini delivers 90 tokens per second. In latency-sensitive production environments, Grok-3 provides faster time-to-first-token (TTFT) and higher streaming response velocity.
Can you implement a tiered LLM routing setup combining Grok-3 and Grok 3 Mini to optimize costs?+
Yes! High-efficiency architectures route high-frequency routine classification and conversational tasks to Grok 3 Mini to save operational costs, and dynamically escalate complex architectural queries or reasoning tasks to Grok-3. This tiered routing pattern cuts overall API bills by up to 70%.
Understand key metrics like context window, token pricing, reasoning mode, and SWE-bench scores in our comprehensive AI glossary.
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Benchmark scores, token prices, and rate limits evolve rapidly as AI labs release model updates. Always verify current specifications and pricing on the official provider documentation.
Sources: GetInfoUs Independent AI Benchmarks & Official API Specs