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
Roi colosse de pointede xAI de référence modèle de pointe entraîné sur 200,000+ Nvidia GPUs, introducing profond pensée deliberation modes, compétitif mathématiques mastery, et natif codage agents.
$3.00 / 1M
$15.00 / 1M
1M tokens
65.2%
Grok 3 Mini
Raisonnement haute vélocitéModèle de raisonnement léger de xAI combinant réflexion logique rapide, résolution mathématique et vitesse agique à coût abordable.
$0.30 / 1M
$1.20 / 1M
131.1K tokens
56.4%
Différences Clés en un Coup d’Œil
- 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%).
| Caractéristique | 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 |
Qui gagne où ?
At-a-glance decision frameworkScores de Benchmarks Vérifiés
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.
Latence et Temps de Réponse
Time to first token (TTFT) and estimated end-to-end response time for a typical 500-token response.
Simulateur Interactif de Coût de Tokens
Adjust sliders to calculate projected monthly cloud API spending with prompt caching discounts.
Grok-3 · Strengths & Key Advantages
- conçu upon le expanded 200K H100/H200 Colossus compute fabric
- Outstanding compétitif programmation et AIME mathematics benchmark scores
- 1,000,000 token fenêtre de contexte avec natif raisonnement effort toggles
Considerations & Trade-offs
- nécessite substantiel raisonnement temps during étendu pensée passes
- supérieur d'entreprise coût par prompt
Grok 3 Mini · Strengths & Key Advantages
- Égale ou surpasse OpenAI o3-mini dans les compétitions de code
- Curseur d'effort de réflexion configurable selon les besoins
- Cadence d'inférence rapide (90 tok/s) même en mode réflexion
- Tarification très avantageuse par rapport à Grok 3
Considerations & Trade-offs
- Traitement textuel uniquement (sans vision ni vidéo)
- Nécessite une clé d'accès API xAI active
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 |
Spécifications Techniques
Architecture, release timeline, capabilities, and modalities.
| Caractéristique | 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: Réponses Rapides (FAQ)
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.
Questions fréquentes
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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Les scores de benchmarks, tarifs par token et limites évoluent rapidement. Vérifiez toujours les spécifications actuelles sur la documentation officielle du fournisseur.
Sources: GetInfoUs Independent AI Benchmarks & Official API Specs