xAI · AI model
Grok 4.3
Lower-priced xAI text model described as fast with strong tool calling and instruction following. 1M-token context, text and image input, optional reasoning (none to xhigh, default low); $1.25/$2.50 per 1M input/output tokens; Batch API 20% off.
Last verified Available 6 sources
Key specs
- Provider
- xAI
- Family
- Grok 4
- API identifier
- grok-4.3
- Availability
- Available
- License
- Proprietary
- Context window
- 1,000,000 tokens
- Knowledge cutoff
- December 2025
- API access
- Yes
- Consumer app
- Unknown
Capabilities
Inputs
- Text input Yes
- Image input Yes JPG/JPEG or PNG, max 20 MiB per image, no limit on image count (models page)
- Audio input No Model page lists modalities as text and image input, text output
- Video input No Model page lists modalities as text and image input, text output
- File input Unknown
Outputs
- Text output Yes
- Image output No Text-only output per model page
- Audio output No Text-only output per model page
Features
- Reasoning Optional Effort none/low (default)/medium/high/xhigh
- Tool calling Yes
- Web search Yes Server-side web_search tool ($5 per 1K calls); the Batch API docs show grok-4.3 requests with the web_search and x_search tools
"Unknown" means we have not verified this capability yet; it does not mean the model lacks it.
Pricing
Estimate your monthly cost →| Dimension | Tier | Price | Since | Verified | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input tokens | base | $1.25 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-25 | API Pricing |
| ≥ 200K prompt tokens (≥ 200K input tokens) | $2.50 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-25 | API Pricing Long-context rate: once a request's prompt reaches 200K tokens, all tokens in the request are billed at this rate (pricing page). | |
| Cached input tokens | base | $0.20 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-25 | API Pricing |
| ≥ 200K prompt tokens (≥ 200K input tokens) | $0.40 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-25 | API Pricing Long-context rate: once a request's prompt reaches 200K tokens, all tokens in the request are billed at this rate (pricing page). | |
| Output tokens | base | $2.50 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-25 | API Pricing |
| ≥ 200K prompt tokens (≥ 200K input tokens) | $5.00 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-25 | API Pricing Long-context rate: once a request's prompt reaches 200K tokens, all tokens in the request are billed at this rate (pricing page). | |
| Batch input tokens | base | $1.00 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-25 | API Pricing Batch API: 20% off standard rates for this model (pricing page and model page); the discount also applies to cached and reasoning tokens. |
| ≥ 200K prompt tokens (≥ 200K input tokens) | $2.00 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-25 | API Pricing Batch API: 20% off standard rates for this model (pricing page and model page); the discount also applies to cached and reasoning tokens. Long-context rate. | |
| Batch output tokens | base | $2.00 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-25 | API Pricing Batch API: 20% off standard rates for this model (pricing page and model page); the discount also applies to cached and reasoning tokens. |
| ≥ 200K prompt tokens (≥ 200K input tokens) | $4.00 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-25 | API Pricing Batch API: 20% off standard rates for this model (pricing page and model page); the discount also applies to cached and reasoning tokens. Long-context rate. |
Prices are shown in the currency the provider publishes; we never convert currencies.
Price history (10 entries)
| Dimension | Tier | Price | From | Until |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input tokens | base | $1.25 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | current |
| Input tokens | ≥ 200K prompt tokens (≥ 200K input tokens) | $2.50 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | current |
| Cached input tokens | base | $0.20 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | current |
| Cached input tokens | ≥ 200K prompt tokens (≥ 200K input tokens) | $0.40 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | current |
| Output tokens | base | $2.50 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | current |
| Output tokens | ≥ 200K prompt tokens (≥ 200K input tokens) | $5.00 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | current |
| Batch input tokens | base | $1.00 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | current |
| Batch input tokens | ≥ 200K prompt tokens (≥ 200K input tokens) | $2.00 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | current |
| Batch output tokens | base | $2.00 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | current |
| Batch output tokens | ≥ 200K prompt tokens (≥ 200K input tokens) | $4.00 per 1M tokens | 2026-10-12 | current |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Setting | Score | Reported by | Measured | Verified | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDPval-AA v2.1 Elo, higher is better | v2.1; high effort | 938 Elo | Third party | 2026-10-25 | 2026-10-25 | GDPval-AA v2.1 Leaderboard (Artificial Analysis) |
| v2.1; non-reasoning | 941 Elo | Third party | 2026-10-25 | 2026-10-25 | GDPval-AA v2.1 Leaderboard (Artificial Analysis) | |
| Text Arena Arena score, higher is better | Overall; style control on; effort not stated | 1,442 | Third party | 2026-10-23 | 2026-10-25 | Text Arena leaderboard (Arena) |
Elo is a relative rating: values change as models are added and the scale is re-anchored, so always store the date a rating was read. For example, Anthropic's launch page gives 1846 for Claude Opus 5.5, while the leaderboard on 2026-10-12 shows 1866 (Max, Default Fallback). Earlier versions (Google cites "GDPVal-AA v2") are not comparable. Judging is done by an LLM, not by human experts. Anthropic models are listed with "Default Fallback", meaning refused steps are routed to a fallback model. AA-Briefcase and GDP.pdf are separate evaluations.
Scores measure voter preference, which can be influenced by answer style and length. The leaderboard offers a style-control adjustment, so record which view was used. Scores shift with every update, so a value is only meaningful together with its leaderboard date. Entries marked "Preliminary" or with few votes have wide confidence intervals. The same model can appear several times with different reasoning-effort suffixes (for example -high or -max). Category views (Coding, Math, Creative Writing and others) are different rankings from Overall.
One row per result, without rank numbers: each result was measured under its own setting (effort level, harness, tools, test version), as stated by the source, and scores compare only within the same setting. Self-reported results come from the provider and have not been reproduced independently.
Rankings
- #20 of 42 in Best AI API as of 2026-10-26
- #25 of 39 in Best AI for business as of 2026-10-26
Derived from our published ranking snapshots; each ranking explains its criteria and weights.
Compare Grok 4.3
Guides
- AI token pricing explained: input, output, cached and batch rates
- Reasoning models explained: thinking modes, effort and cost
- Multimodal AI explained: image, audio, video and file inputs, and what they cost
- Context windows explained: limits, long-context pricing and recall
- How to choose an AI model: a practical decision framework
About Grok 4.3
xAI's docs describe Grok 4.3 as a fast, reliable model with strong tool calling and instruction following capabilities; reasoning effort can be set to none, low (default), medium, high or xhigh. The Grok release notes introduced it as a beta on April 17, 2026, describing a new pre-trained model at the scale of Grok 4.20 with a December 2025 knowledge cutoff. Since the May 15, 2026 retirement, requests to grok-4-0709, the grok-4-fast and grok-4-1-fast variants and grok-3 are redirected to grok-4.3. It is served in us-east-1, us-west-2 and eu-west-1.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- 1M-token context window
- Reasoning can be switched off (effort none) or raised up to xhigh
- Batch API supported at 20% off standard rates
- Lower token prices than grok-4.5, grok-4.6 and grok-4.7 ($1.25/$2.50 vs $2.00/$6.00 per 1M input/output tokens)
Weaknesses
- Lower default-tier (Tier 0) rate limits than grok-4.7 (37 requests/s and 10M tokens/min vs 150 requests/s and 50M tokens/min)
Sources
Last verified Page updated 2026-10-26