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Independent tool overview

Grok 4.3 at a glance

Grok 4.3 is an xAI API model built for fast, cost-efficient agents, long-context analysis, instruction following, and tool use.

Visit the official Grok 4.3 site ↗
Grok 4.3 product preview
Developer model
grok-4.3
Inputs
Text and images
Output
Text
Context window
1,000,000 tokens
Reasoning levels
None, low, medium, and high
Standard API price
$1.25 input / $2.50 output per 1M tokens

Overview

What Grok 4.3 is

Grok 4.3 is a text-and-image input model in the xAI API. It is aimed at developers building agents, assistants, document workflows, and other applications that need reliable instruction following and tool calling without top-tier model pricing.

Its headline specification is a 1,000,000-token context window. Developers can also choose none, low, medium, or high reasoning effort, which makes the same model usable for both quick extraction tasks and more deliberate multi-step work.

This page covers the developer model rather than the broader Grok consumer app. xAI also makes Grok 4.3 available through Amazon Bedrock, while the direct xAI API exposes its own pricing, caching, batch processing, and rate limits.

Use cases

Who Grok 4.3 is best for

The strongest fit depends on the job you need the product to complete, not the size of its feature list.

Long-context analysis

Review large document collections, transcripts, repositories, or other inputs that fit within a one-million-token context window.

Tool-using agents

Build workflows that call functions and return structured data rather than relying on unstructured chat alone.

Cost-sensitive production apps

Use a capable frontier-family model at lower token rates than many premium reasoning models.

Variable-complexity workloads

Set reasoning effort per request so simple work can prioritize speed and harder tasks can receive more deliberation.

Capabilities

Core Grok 4.3 features

1

One-million-token context

Accepts up to 1,000,000 tokens for large inputs and extended conversations.

2

Configurable reasoning

Supports none, low, medium, and high reasoning effort rather than forcing one latency and depth profile.

3

Function calling

Connects the model to application tools, APIs, and external systems.

4

Structured outputs

Can return responses in a developer-defined schema for more reliable automation.

5

Multimodal input

Understands text and image inputs while producing text responses.

6

Cached and batch pricing

xAI offers discounted cached-input rates and lower batch rates for suitable asynchronous workloads.

Process

How the Grok 4.3 workflow works

  1. Step 1

    Create an xAI API account

    Set up a team, add billing, and generate an API key in the xAI Console.

  2. Step 2

    Choose grok-4.3

    Use the stable model name or its latest alias in a supported SDK or direct API request.

  3. Step 3

    Set reasoning effort

    Choose none for maximum speed or low, medium, or high based on the task's difficulty.

  4. Step 4

    Add tools or schemas

    Define callable functions or a structured response format when the workflow needs dependable automation.

  5. Step 5

    Control long-context costs

    Track prompt length because requests at or above 200,000 tokens use xAI's higher long-context rates.

  6. Step 6

    Evaluate production behavior

    Test accuracy, latency, tool selection, and failure handling on representative data before scaling usage.

Cost

Grok 4.3 pricing and free plan

Direct xAI API usage is token-based. Standard prompts below the long-context threshold cost $1.25 per million input tokens, $0.20 per million cached input tokens, and $2.50 per million output tokens. When a prompt reaches 200,000 tokens, xAI applies long-context rates to all tokens in that request.

Standard API

$1.25 input / $2.50 output per 1M tokens

Direct xAI API pricing for prompts below 200,000 tokens.

  • Cached input: $0.20 per 1M tokens
  • Text and image input
  • Text output
  • Usage-based billing

Long context

$2.50 input / $5 output per 1M tokens

Applies to the entire request once its prompt reaches 200,000 tokens.

  • Cached input: $0.40 per 1M tokens
  • Up to 1M-token context
  • Threshold applies to prompt length
  • Plan large requests carefully

Batch API

$0.625 input / $1.25 output per 1M tokens

Discounted processing for eligible asynchronous jobs.

  • Cached input: $0.10 per 1M tokens
  • 50% below standard token rates
  • Best for non-interactive workloads
  • Long-context batch pricing is higher

Pricing checked . Check current pricing at the source ↗

Assessment

Grok 4.3 strengths and limitations

Where it stands out

  • Large one-million-token context window
  • Low standard input and output token prices
  • Reasoning effort can be tuned per request
  • Supports function calling and structured outputs
  • Available through both xAI and Amazon Bedrock

What to consider

  • Long prompts at or above 200,000 tokens trigger higher rates for the full request
  • It returns text rather than generating image or audio output
  • Published benchmarks do not replace evaluation on your own workload
  • API costs can still grow quickly with very large contexts or verbose outputs
  • Consumer Grok subscriptions and API billing are separate products

Compare

Grok 4.3 alternatives

The right alternative depends on the specific output, workflow, controls and budget your project requires.

Consumer

Grok 4.5

Consider xAI's newer model when higher capability matters more than Grok 4.3's lower standard pricing.

Explore Grok 4.5

Agents

OpenAI Frontier

Consider OpenAI's developer platform when its model and tool ecosystem better fits the application.

Explore OpenAI Frontier

Questions

Grok 4.3 FAQs

What is Grok 4.3?

Grok 4.3 is xAI's fast, cost-efficient developer model for text and image understanding, long-context analysis, instruction following, reasoning, and tool use.

How much does Grok 4.3 cost?

For standard direct xAI API requests, it costs $1.25 per million input tokens, $0.20 per million cached input tokens, and $2.50 per million output tokens. Long-context and batch requests use different rates.

What is the Grok 4.3 context window?

The model supports a context window of up to 1,000,000 tokens.

Does Grok 4.3 support images?

Yes. It accepts text and image inputs and produces text output.

Does Grok 4.3 support reasoning controls?

Yes. Developers can set reasoning effort to none, low, medium, or high.

Is Grok 4.3 the same as the Grok chatbot?

No. Grok 4.3 is a specific model available to developers, while Grok is the broader consumer application and product experience.

Can I use Grok 4.3 on Amazon Bedrock?

Yes. xAI announced Grok 4.3 availability through Amazon Bedrock in supported regions.

Bottom line

Our Grok 4.3 verdict

Grok 4.3 is a strong fit for developers who want long context, tool calling, and selectable reasoning at an unusually low standard token price. The main budgeting catch is xAI's separate long-context rate once prompts reach 200,000 tokens.

Visit Grok 4.3 website ↗
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