OpenAI Launches o3-mini, a Cost-Efficient Reasoning Model Rivaling DeepSeek - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

OpenAI Launches o3-mini, a Cost-Efficient Reasoning Model Rivaling DeepSeek

OpenAI today released o3-mini, a new, more cost efficient model that's available for both ChatGPT and the OpenAI API starting today. OpenAI previewed o3-mini in December, but it is ready at a time when OpenAI is aiming to keep up with Chinese company DeepSeek.

open ai logo
According to OpenAI, o3-mini "advances the boundaries" of what's possible with smaller, more efficient models. o3-mini is designed for STEM capabilities, and OpenAI says that it has particular strength in science, math, and coding. o3-mini is search capable, and it can locate up-to-date answers with links to relevant web sources.

o3-mini is OpenAI's first small reasoning model that supports features like function calling, Structured Outputs, and developer messages. There are three reasoning effort options, including low, medium, and high, to optimize for different use cases that prioritize processing power for complex challenges or speed.

OpenAI is keeping o1 as its standard general knowledge reasoning model, but o3-mini is available for technical domains that require precision and speed. When used with ChatGPT, o3-mini uses medium reasoning effort for a balance between speed and accuracy, but o3-mini high is an option in the model picker.

ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro users are able to use o3-mini starting today, and it will replace o1-mini in the model picker. The rate limit for Plus and Team users is now 150 messages per day, up from 50.

o3-mini is the first reasoning model that OpenAI is making available to free users. Those with the free plan can try o3-mini by selecting the "Reason" option in the message composer.

Popular Stories

macOS iOS 27 Siri App Feature

Apple's Siri AI Can Be Swapped Out for Claude, ChatGPT, Code Shows

Monday September 14, 2026 4:37 am PDT by
Code sleuth "pdfu" has uncovered iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate private frameworks that show Apple has designed its new Siri architecture to work with third-party AI models at what appears to be a surprisingly deep level. One mechanism called Model Delegation allows Claude to appear as a Siri extension in the same way as the existing built-in ChatGPT extension. In pdfu's video, shared on X,...
ChatGPT Feature

Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok Are Down on iPhone and Web

Thursday September 3, 2026 12:01 am PDT by
It is apparently not a good day for AI chatbots, as ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok are all down or experiencing issues for many users. OpenAI's status page acknowledges issues across ChatGPT and Codex, while Grok's website notes that it is currently experiencing issues as well. Likewise, Anthropic's status page indicates Claude is experiencing elevated errors. All of the companies are...
OpenAI vs Apple Feature

Apple Says Former Engineer Used Stolen Trade Secrets at OpenAI, Taught AI Agent to Run Them

Monday August 31, 2026 1:22 pm PDT by
Apple today submitted new evidence in its lawsuit against OpenAI, with the hope that the new information will persuade the judge to grant an expedited discovery process. Apple filed a theft of trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI employees Chang Liu and Tang Tan in July, accusing them of using multiple methods to steal data from Apple. Liu kept an Apple-issued MacBook after he left for...

Top Rated Comments

21 months ago


Attachment Image
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
21 months ago
How is it rivaling deepseek when it's behind a paywall and not an open-source
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
21 months ago
Still costs 10x as much as DeepSeek. Not open source. Lower lmarena scores. Model seems to have gotten dumber.

It definitely rivals DeepSeek in being more expensive. 🤣

This is what a follower looks like.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
21 months ago
Still not Open Source.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
21 months ago
Smaller! Cheaper! Still suggests eating rocks!
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
21 months ago

It's amazing how quickly they came out with this.

It took DeepSeek to get OpenAI to release this.
They used DeepSeek to write the code!
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors