o3-mini (high) (high-performance)

High-Performance, Cost-Effective Mini Model

o3-mini (high) (high-performance)

o3-mini (high) delivers a compelling blend of speed, intelligence, and competitive pricing, making it a strong contender for high-throughput, cost-sensitive applications.

Fast InferenceCost-OptimizedHigh ContextText GenerationProprietaryAbove Average Intelligence

The o3-mini (high) model, developed by OpenAI, stands out as a high-performance variant designed for efficiency and speed without significant compromise on intelligence. Positioned strategically in the market, it offers a robust solution for developers and businesses seeking to optimize their AI workloads for both performance and cost. Its 'high' designation is well-earned, reflecting its impressive output speed and competitive latency figures across leading API providers.

Benchmarked against a broad spectrum of models, o3-mini (high) achieves an Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index score of 51, placing it comfortably above the average of 44 for comparable models. This indicates a solid capability for understanding and generating complex text, making it suitable for a wide array of tasks from content creation to summarization and basic reasoning. The model's 200k token context window further enhances its utility, allowing for processing and generating longer, more coherent responses or analyzing extensive documents.

One of o3-mini (high)'s most compelling attributes is its exceptional speed. With an average output speed of 136.9 tokens per second, it significantly outperforms the average model speed of 68 tokens per second, securing a top-tier ranking in this metric. This speed, combined with its competitive pricing structure—$1.10 per 1M input tokens and $4.40 per 1M output tokens, both notably below market averages—positions o3-mini (high) as an economically attractive option for applications requiring rapid, high-volume text processing.

The model's performance is consistently strong across major API providers. Microsoft Azure, for instance, leads with the fastest output speed at 146 tokens/s and the lowest latency at 53.10 seconds. OpenAI, the model's owner, also provides excellent performance with 137 tokens/s and 65.93 seconds latency. Both providers offer identical, highly competitive pricing, ensuring flexibility and choice for deployment. This dual-provider strength underscores the model's reliability and accessibility for diverse operational needs.

Scoreboard

Intelligence

51 (36 / 101 / 3 / 4 units)

o3-mini (high) scores above average on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, demonstrating solid capabilities for its class. It is well-suited for tasks requiring moderate complexity and understanding.
Output speed

136.9 tokens/s

This model is notably fast, significantly outperforming the average. Azure offers the fastest inference at 146 t/s, making it ideal for high-throughput applications.
Input price

$1.10 /M tokens

Input token pricing is highly competitive, well below the market average. Both OpenAI and Azure offer this low rate.
Output price

$4.40 /M tokens

Output token pricing is also very competitive, offering substantial savings compared to the market average. Available at the same rate from both providers.
Verbosity signal

N/A Unknown

Data on verbosity (output tokens from Intelligence Index) is not available for this model. Users should test for specific use cases.
Provider latency

53.10s TTFT

Azure provides the lowest time to first token (TTFT) for o3-mini (high), making it an excellent choice for real-time or interactive applications.

Technical specifications

Spec Details
Owner OpenAI
License Proprietary
Context Window 200,000 tokens
Input Modality Text
Output Modality Text
Intelligence Index 51 (Above Average)
Output Speed (Avg) 136.9 tokens/s
Input Price $1.10 / 1M tokens
Output Price $4.40 / 1M tokens
Blended Price (Avg) $1.93 / 1M tokens
Fastest Output Speed 146 tokens/s (Azure)
Lowest Latency 53.10s (Azure)
API Providers OpenAI, Microsoft Azure

What stands out beyond the scoreboard

Where this model wins
  • Exceptional Speed: Achieves 136.9 t/s on average, with Azure pushing it to 146 t/s, making it one of the fastest models available for text generation.
  • Cost-Effectiveness: Both input ($1.10/M) and output ($4.40/M) token prices are significantly below market averages, offering substantial cost savings for high-volume usage.
  • Solid Intelligence: With an Intelligence Index of 51, it performs above average, capable of handling a wide range of text-based tasks effectively.
  • Large Context Window: A 200k token context window supports processing and generating longer, more complex documents and conversations.
  • Provider Flexibility: Consistent performance and pricing across OpenAI and Microsoft Azure allow users to choose based on existing infrastructure or specific regional needs.
  • Low Latency: Azure's 53.10s TTFT ensures quick initial responses, crucial for interactive applications.
Where costs sneak up
  • Proprietary Lock-in: Being a proprietary model, users are tied to OpenAI's ecosystem and licensing terms, limiting portability to open-source alternatives.
  • Intelligence Ceiling: While above average, it may not be suitable for highly complex reasoning tasks or nuanced understanding required by top-tier models.
  • Verbosity Unknown: Lack of verbosity data means potential for unexpected output length, which could subtly increase output token costs if not managed.
  • Latency Variability: While Azure offers low latency, other providers or network conditions could introduce higher TTFT, impacting real-time application responsiveness.
  • Context Window Management: Despite a large context, inefficient prompt engineering can still lead to unnecessary token consumption, driving up costs.
  • No Multimodality: Limited to text input and output, it cannot handle image, audio, or video processing, requiring integration with other models for multimodal applications.

Provider pick

Choosing the right API provider for o3-mini (high) largely depends on your primary optimization goals: raw speed and responsiveness, or a balanced approach with the model's native provider. Both OpenAI and Microsoft Azure offer highly competitive pricing, simplifying the cost consideration.

The performance metrics reveal distinct advantages for each, allowing for tailored deployment strategies based on your application's critical requirements.

Priority Pick Why Tradeoff to accept
1. Speed & Latency Microsoft Azure Azure consistently delivers the fastest output speed (146 t/s) and the lowest time to first token (53.10s), making it ideal for applications where every millisecond counts. While OpenAI's performance is very close, Azure edges it out for absolute speed and responsiveness.
2. Balanced Performance OpenAI As the model's owner, OpenAI offers excellent, consistent performance (137 t/s, 65.93s TTFT) and identical competitive pricing, often benefiting from direct integration and support. Slightly higher latency and marginally lower output speed compared to Azure, but still top-tier.
3. Cost Optimization OpenAI / Microsoft Azure Both providers offer identical, highly competitive input ($1.10/M) and output ($4.40/M) token prices, ensuring cost-efficiency regardless of choice. No significant cost tradeoff between these two providers for o3-mini (high). Decision should be based on performance or existing infrastructure.
4. Enterprise Integration Microsoft Azure For organizations already heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, Azure provides seamless integration, robust enterprise-grade security, and compliance features. May require additional setup if not already an Azure customer, but offers significant benefits for large-scale deployments.

Note: Performance metrics are based on average benchmarks. Actual results may vary depending on network conditions, specific workload, and API usage patterns.

Real workloads cost table

Understanding the real-world cost of using o3-mini (high) involves translating token prices into practical scenarios. Given its competitive pricing and high context window, it's well-suited for a variety of applications. Below are estimated costs for common workloads, assuming a 1:2 input-to-output token ratio for generative tasks, and a 1:1 ratio for summarization/analysis where output is proportional to input.

These calculations use the model's input price of $1.10/M tokens and output price of $4.40/M tokens, reflecting the blended rate of $1.93/M tokens for a 1:2 ratio.

Scenario Input Output What it represents Estimated cost
Customer Support Chatbot 1,000 tokens (user query + history) 2,000 tokens (AI response) Handling a typical customer interaction, including context and a detailed reply. $0.00011 (input) + $0.00088 (output) = $0.00099 per interaction
Long Document Summarization 100,000 tokens (full document) 10,000 tokens (summary) Condensing a 50-page report into a concise executive summary. $0.00110 (input) + $0.00044 (output) = $0.00154 per document
Content Generation (Blog Post) 5,000 tokens (prompt + outline) 10,000 tokens (full article) Generating a 1,500-word blog post from a detailed prompt. $0.000055 (input) + $0.00044 (output) = $0.000495 per article
Code Explanation/Review 20,000 tokens (code snippet + query) 10,000 tokens (explanation/review) Analyzing a medium-sized code block and providing a detailed explanation or review. $0.00022 (input) + $0.00044 (output) = $0.00066 per review
Data Extraction from Reports 50,000 tokens (report text) 5,000 tokens (extracted data) Extracting key figures and facts from a financial report. $0.00055 (input) + $0.00022 (output) = $0.00077 per report
Email Draft Generation 500 tokens (brief instructions) 1,500 tokens (draft email) Composing a professional email based on a short prompt. $0.0000055 (input) + $0.000066 (output) = $0.0000715 per email

o3-mini (high)'s competitive pricing, especially for output tokens, makes it highly economical for generative tasks. Its large context window further enhances its value for processing and summarizing extensive content, offering significant cost savings compared to models with higher per-token rates.

How to control cost (a practical playbook)

Optimizing costs with o3-mini (high) involves leveraging its strengths while mitigating potential pitfalls. Its high speed and competitive pricing provide a strong foundation, but strategic implementation can unlock even greater efficiency and savings.

Consider these playbook strategies to maximize your return on investment with this powerful model.

1. Prioritize Output Token Efficiency

Given that output tokens are four times more expensive than input tokens, focus on minimizing unnecessary output. This is crucial for cost control.

  • Concise Prompting: Design prompts to encourage shorter, more direct answers when possible.
  • Output Constraints: Explicitly ask the model to limit its response length (e.g., 'Summarize in 3 sentences,' 'Provide only the answer, no preamble').
  • Iterative Refinement: For complex tasks, break them down. Get a concise initial output, then ask follow-up questions rather than expecting a single, exhaustive response.
2. Leverage the Large Context Window Wisely

The 200k token context window is a powerful feature, but using it inefficiently can still lead to higher input costs. Only include necessary context.

  • Dynamic Context Loading: Load only the most relevant parts of a document or conversation history into the prompt, rather than the entire context every time.
  • Summarize History: For long-running conversations, periodically summarize past turns and feed the summary as context instead of the raw dialogue.
  • Batch Processing: For tasks like summarization or data extraction, process larger chunks of input at once to reduce API call overhead, but be mindful of output length.
3. Optimize for Speed and Latency with Provider Choice

While both providers offer excellent pricing, their performance characteristics can impact overall operational costs and user experience.

  • Azure for Real-time: If your application is latency-sensitive (e.g., interactive chatbots, live content generation), prioritize Azure for its superior TTFT and output speed. Faster responses can improve user satisfaction and reduce idle time in your application.
  • OpenAI for General Use: For less latency-critical applications or if you have existing OpenAI integrations, their API offers a robust and cost-effective solution.
  • Monitor Performance: Continuously monitor the performance of your chosen provider to ensure it aligns with your application's requirements and cost targets.
4. Implement Output Filtering and Post-Processing

Even with careful prompting, models can sometimes generate extraneous information. Post-processing can help manage this.

  • Truncation: Implement logic to truncate responses that exceed a certain length, especially if only a specific amount of information is needed.
  • Keyword Extraction: For data extraction tasks, use post-processing to pull out only the required data points, discarding any conversational filler.
  • Redundancy Check: For generative tasks, check for and remove repetitive phrases or sentences that might inflate token count.

FAQ

What is o3-mini (high) best suited for?

o3-mini (high) is ideal for applications requiring a balance of speed, intelligence, and cost-efficiency. This includes high-throughput text generation, summarization of long documents, customer support automation, content creation, and general text-based analysis where a large context window is beneficial.

How does o3-mini (high) compare to other 'mini' models?

The '(high)' designation indicates a focus on enhanced performance. It typically offers superior output speed and competitive latency compared to standard 'mini' models, while maintaining a strong intelligence score and highly attractive pricing. Its 200k context window is also a significant differentiator.

Is o3-mini (high) suitable for real-time applications?

Yes, particularly when deployed via Microsoft Azure. With a time to first token (TTFT) as low as 53.10 seconds and high output speeds, it is well-suited for interactive chatbots, live content generation, and other latency-sensitive use cases.

What are the pricing differences between OpenAI and Microsoft Azure for this model?

For o3-mini (high), both OpenAI and Microsoft Azure offer identical and highly competitive pricing: $1.10 per 1M input tokens and $4.40 per 1M output tokens. This allows users to choose a provider based on performance, existing infrastructure, or specific regional requirements without a significant cost disparity.

Can I use o3-mini (high) for complex reasoning tasks?

While o3-mini (high) has an above-average intelligence score, it is a 'mini' model. For highly complex reasoning, nuanced understanding, or tasks requiring deep domain expertise, you might consider larger, more specialized models. However, for many common business logic and content generation tasks, it performs admirably.

How can I optimize my costs when using o3-mini (high)?

Focus on minimizing output tokens through concise prompting and explicit length constraints. Leverage the large context window efficiently by only including necessary information. Choose the provider that best matches your performance needs (Azure for speed/latency). Implement post-processing to filter out unnecessary output and ensure you're only paying for valuable content.

What is the maximum context window for o3-mini (high)?

The o3-mini (high) model supports a substantial context window of 200,000 tokens. This allows it to process and generate very long pieces of text, maintain extended conversations, or analyze large documents in a single API call.


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