Claude Opus 4.1 vs o3-mini
Compare Anthropic and OpenAI AI models
Cost Comparison (1000 input + 500 output tokens, 100 requests/day)
Claude Opus 4.1
o3-mini
Cost Differences
o3-mini costs less than Claude Opus 4.1
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Claude Opus 4.1 | o3-mini |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic | OpenAI |
| Input Price | $15.00/1M tokens | $1.10/1M tokens |
| Output Price | $75.00/1M tokens | $4.40/1M tokens |
| Context Window | 200,000 tokens | 500,000 tokens |
| Max Output | 32,000 tokens | 65,536 tokens |
| Category | flagship | reasoning |
| Capabilities | textvisioncodereasoning | textreasoningcode |
| Release Date | 8/5/2025 | 1/31/2025 |
Claude Opus 4.1 vs o3-mini: Which Should You Choose?
Choosing between Claude Opus 4.1 and o3-mini depends on your priorities: cost efficiency, context length, or raw capability. o3-mini is the more affordable option at $1.10/1M input tokens — 93% cheaper than Claude Opus 4.1. Meanwhile, o3-mini offers a significantly larger context window at 500,000 tokens vs 200,000 for Claude Opus 4.1.
These models come from different providers — Anthropic and OpenAI — which means different API ecosystems, SDKs, rate limits, and terms of service. If you're already integrated with Anthropic, switching to OpenAIinvolves migration effort beyond just pricing. Factor in your existing infrastructure when deciding.
These models target different tiers: Claude Opus 4.1 is a flagship model while o3-mini is reasoning. This means they're optimized for different workloads. Claude Opus 4.1 is built for complex tasks that require deeper reasoning, while o3-mini offers better value for routine operations.
Output costs matter too. Claude Opus 4.1 charges $75.00/1M output tokens vs $4.40 for o3-mini. For generation-heavy workloads (content creation, code generation, summarization), output pricing often dominates your bill. o3-mini has the edge here at $4.40/1M output tokens.
Multimodal capabilities: Claude Opus 4.1 supports vision (image inputs) while o3-mini is text-only. If your application needs image understanding, this narrows your choice.
Best Use Cases
Choose Claude Opus 4.1 when:
- • You need more capabilities (vision)
- • You're already using Anthropic's API ecosystem
Choose o3-mini when:
- • Budget is a primary concern
- • You need a larger context window (500,000 tokens)
- • You need longer outputs (up to 65,536 tokens)
- • You're already using OpenAI's API ecosystem
Try Different Scenarios
Use the calculator below to see how costs change with different usage patterns
Claude Opus 4.1 (Anthropic)
o3-mini (OpenAI)
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