o3-Mini logo

o3-Mini

Paid

Pushing the frontier of cost-effective reasoning.

4.7
Type
Saas
Company
OpenAI

About o3-Mini

OpenAI o3-mini is the newest, most cost-efficient reasoning model in OpenAI's reasoning series, released on January 31, 2025. It advances the boundaries of small models by delivering exceptional STEM capabilities—particularly in science, math, and coding—while maintaining low cost and reduced latency compared to o1-mini. The model supports highly requested developer features including function calling, structured outputs, developer messages, and streaming. Developers can choose between three reasoning effort options (low, medium, high) to optimize for speed or accuracy. o3-mini does not support vision capabilities; for visual reasoning, OpenAI o1 should be used. It is available in ChatGPT (free, Plus, Team, Pro tiers) and via the API (Chat Completions, Assistants, Batch API) to select developers in usage tiers 3-5. Plus and Team users receive 150 messages per day (tripled from o1-mini's 50). o3-mini also works with search to provide up-to-date answers with links to relevant sources. With medium reasoning effort, o3-mini matches o1's performance on challenging benchmarks like AIME and GPQA.

Key Features

Cost-efficient reasoning model optimized for STEM (science, math, coding)
Supports function calling, structured outputs, developer messages, and streaming
Three reasoning effort options: low, medium, high for flexibility
Integrates with search to provide up-to-date answers with web sources
Higher rate limits: 150 messages per day for Plus and Team users (3x o1-mini)
Available to free ChatGPT users via 'Reason' mode (first reasoning model offered free)
Low latency and fast responses compared to o1-mini
Production-ready with Assistants API and Batch API support

Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Cost-effective for high-volume reasoning tasks
  • Strong performance on math and coding benchmarks (matches o1 with medium effort)
  • Faster responses and lower latency than o1-mini
  • Supports essential developer features (function calling, structured outputs)
  • Flexible reasoning effort allows trade-off between speed and accuracy
  • Available to free users for the first time for a reasoning model
  • Higher rate limits (150 msg/day for Plus/Team) improve usability
Cons
  • Does not support vision capabilities (use o1 for visual reasoning)
  • API access initially limited to usage tiers 3-5
  • Enterprise access not available until February 2025
  • Search integration described as early prototype

Best For

STEM reasoning tasks (science, math, coding)Complex logical problem-solving requiring precisionReal-time applications where low latency is criticalCost-sensitive developers needing strong reasoning at scaleSearch-enhanced question answering with citations

Alternatives to o3-Mini

FAQ

What is OpenAI o3-mini?
OpenAI o3-mini is a cost-efficient reasoning model released on January 31, 2025. It excels in STEM tasks (science, math, coding) and supports developer features like function calling and structured outputs.
How does o3-mini compare to o1-mini?
o3-mini delivers faster responses, lower latency, and stronger STEM reasoning than o1-mini. Testers preferred o3-mini's responses 56% of the time and observed a 39% reduction in major errors on difficult real-world questions.
Does o3-mini support vision?
No, o3-mini does not support vision capabilities. For visual reasoning tasks, use OpenAI o1.
Is o3-mini available to free users?
Yes, for the first time a reasoning model is available to free ChatGPT users. They can access it by selecting 'Reason' in the message composer or regenerating a response.
What are the rate limits for o3-mini?
Plus and Team users get 150 messages per day with o3-mini (tripled from o1-mini's 50). Pro users have unlimited access. Free plan users have limited access.