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o1-mini vs o3 Deep Research

Compare OpenAI and OpenAI AI models

OpenAI
o1-mini
vs
OpenAI
o3 Deep Research

Cost Comparison (1000 input + 500 output tokens, 100 requests/day)

o1-mini

Per Request:$0.003300
Daily:$0.33
Monthly:$9.90
Yearly:$120.45

o3 Deep Research

Per Request:$0.03
Daily:$3.00
Monthly:$90.00
Yearly:$1,095.00

Cost Differences

+$0.0267
Per Request
+$2.67
Daily
+$80.10
Monthly
+$974.55
Yearly

o3 Deep Research costs more than o1-mini

Feature Comparison

Featureo1-minio3 Deep Research
ProviderOpenAIOpenAI
Input Price$1.10/1M tokens$10.00/1M tokens
Output Price$4.40/1M tokens$40.00/1M tokens
Context Window128,000 tokens200,000 tokens
Max Output65,536 tokens32,768 tokens
Categoryreasoningreasoning
Capabilities
textreasoning
textreasoningvisioncode
Release Date9/12/20246/26/2025

o1-mini vs o3 Deep Research: Which Should You Choose?

Choosing between o1-mini and o3 Deep Research depends on your priorities: cost efficiency, context length, or raw capability. o1-mini is the more affordable option at $1.10/1M input tokens89% cheaper than o3 Deep Research. Meanwhile, o3 Deep Research offers a significantly larger context window at 200,000 tokens vs 128,000 for o1-mini.

Both models are in the reasoning category, making this a direct head-to-head comparison. At scale — say 10,000 requests per day — the cost difference adds up: o1-mini would save you roughly $8,010.00/month compared to o3 Deep Research. For startups and indie developers, that difference can be significant.

Output costs matter too. o1-mini charges $4.40/1M output tokens vs $40.00 for o3 Deep Research. For generation-heavy workloads (content creation, code generation, summarization), output pricing often dominates your bill. o1-mini has the edge here at $4.40/1M output tokens.

Multimodal capabilities: o3 Deep Research supports vision (image inputs) while o1-mini is text-only. If your application needs image understanding, this narrows your choice.

Best Use Cases

Choose o1-mini when:

  • • Budget is a primary concern
  • • You need longer outputs (up to 65,536 tokens)
  • • You're already using OpenAI's API ecosystem

Choose o3 Deep Research when:

  • • You need a larger context window (200,000 tokens)
  • • You need more capabilities (vision, code)
  • • You're already using OpenAI's API ecosystem

Try Different Scenarios

Use the calculator below to see how costs change with different usage patterns

o1-mini (OpenAI)

o3 Deep Research (OpenAI)

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper, o1-mini or o3 Deep Research?
o1-mini is cheaper for input tokens at $1.10 per million tokens vs $10.00 for o3 Deep Research — that's 89% savings on input costs.
What is the context window difference between o1-mini and o3 Deep Research?
o1-mini supports 128,000 tokens while o3 Deep Research supports 200,000 tokens — a difference of 72,000 tokens in favor of o3 Deep Research.
Which model is better for AI Chatbot?
Both models support text. For ai chatbot, o1-mini is the lower-cost option, while o3 Deep Research offers a larger context window (200,000 vs 128,000 tokens). Choose o1-mini for budget sensitivity or o3 Deep Research for longer context tasks.
Which model has better overall pricing for heavy usage?
At 100 requests/day with 1,000 input and 500 output tokens each, o1-mini costs about $9.90/month and o3 Deep Research costs about $90.00/month. Overall, o1-mini has lower combined input + output rates ($1.10 in, $4.40 out) vs o3 Deep Research.

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