Grok 3
xAI
Product status: Historical record
xAI's named notice retires grok-3 from its API effective 2026-05-15 12:00 PM PT. Requests using that old slug automatically resolve to grok-4.3 at its different pricing; alias resolution does not mean the original Grok 3 model still serves requests. This exact-generation entry remains historical and outside current recommendations. The notice does not establish the consumer app's model selector or retirement of the Grok brand, and no API or account was tested. This page preserves a historical product record. It is excluded from current recommendations. The descriptions, features, screenshots and editorial opinions below describe its historical offering, not a service available to buy or use now.
- Hosted service:
- Not confirmed
Status source checked: · Status source
Grok 3 — Historical record. xAI's named notice retires grok-3 from its API effective 2026-05-15 12:00 PM PT. Requests using that old slug automatically resolve to grok-4.3 at its different pricing; alias resolution does not mean the original Grok 3 model still serves requests. This exact-generation entry remains historical and outside current recommendations. The notice does not establish the consumer app's model selector or retirement of the Grok brand, and no API or account was tested.
Historical product information
Product preview
Decision notes
This page preserves a historical product record. It is excluded from current recommendations. The descriptions, features, screenshots and editorial opinions below describe its historical offering, not a service available to buy or use now.
Official-document research
Based on the cited documentation. We did not use the product, purchase a plan, or run quality, speed or reliability tests in this review.
Consider it for
- Maintainers documenting old API usage and historical behaviour.
Choose another approach if
- A new deployment requiring genuine original Grok 3 API inference.
- Assuming current Grok subscriptions or successor prices buy the original model.
Pricing and conditions
Documented terms
No current original-model API price is offered by this retirement notice. It says the grok-3 alias bills at the replacement grok-4.3 rates, displayed as $1.25/1M input tokens and $2.50/1M output tokens, not old Grok 3 rates. These are per-token replacement charges, not a monthly seat or consumer subscription. ISO currency, regional taxes, tool/other charges, billing arrangements and current app entitlements were not confirmed. The old freemium category is historical and not proof original-model free access.
Pricing source read:
Pricing or terms sourceCode, model and service licensing
Neither this model name nor hosted/API access grants source or weight rights. Current API/enterprise terms retain relative input/output rights but restrict training other AI with outputs unless an order permits it; data processing, non-exclusive outputs and third-party rights remain relevant. API docs say no training without permission and default 30-day audit retention, with separate ZDR restrictions and contract exceptions. Consumer terms differ: broad content-use rights, account training controls and deletion exceptions apply; Grok on X uses X terms. These current terms are not certified as the original 2025 contract or a right to retired-model access.
Basis and limits of the recorded score
The existing 4.3 score is retained; its original scoring evidence is unavailable. This documentation review did not measure performance or compare products and did not re-score it.
Overview
The February 2025 announcement introduced Grok 3 and separate reasoning variants with launch-era app and planned API access. Those examples and benchmarks are historical vendor claims. A named migration notice retires grok-3 from the xAI API at May 15, 2026, 12:00 PM PT: requests using that slug are now served by grok-4.3 with no reasoning effort and different billing. A resolving legacy name does not mean the original model still runs. Current consumer selection of original Grok 3 was not confirmed, and this does not imply the whole Grok service closed.
Sources
The factual claims in this review were read from the pages below. Each date is when an editor last opened the source, not when the product changed.
- Vendor changelog Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor documentation Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor documentation Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor documentation Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor documentation Checked 2026-10-15
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Original-generation and migration notices remain inspectable.
- Alias behaviour and billing changes are explicitly documented.
Cons
- Original xAI API inference is retired; legacy requests use another model.
- Launch-era app limits, capabilities and scores do not establish current account rights.
Who it's for
Audit legacy integrations that still request grok-3.
Compare historical documentation and plan an explicit supported-model migration.
Bottom line
Treat this as original-generation history and migration evidence; choose an explicit supported model rather than relying on a redirected name.
Historical features
Tags
Frequently asked questions
Is Grok 3 currently available?
xAI's named notice retires grok-3 from its API effective 2026-05-15 12:00 PM PT. Requests using that old slug automatically resolve to grok-4.3 at its different pricing; alias resolution does not mean the original Grok 3 model still serves requests. This exact-generation entry remains historical and outside current recommendations. The notice does not establish the consumer app's model selector or retirement of the Grok brand, and no API or account was tested. This page preserves a historical product record. It is excluded from current recommendations. The descriptions, features, screenshots and editorial opinions below describe its historical offering, not a service available to buy or use now.
What is Grok 3?
Historical product information: The 2025 Grok 3 generation, retained for historical evaluation: its original xAI API retired on May 15, 2026, and the old API slug now routes to a different model. This page preserves a historical product record. It is excluded from current recommendations. The descriptions, features, screenshots and editorial opinions below describe its historical offering, not a service available to buy or use now.
What costs and terms should I check for Grok 3?
The directory records Freemium as the historical pricing model for Grok 3, without a recorded pricing check date. It is not a current price, free tier or purchasable offer. Refer to the status source for the closure or historical context. No current original-model API price is offered by this retirement notice. It says the grok-3 alias bills at the replacement grok-4.3 rates, displayed as $1.25/1M input tokens and $2.50/1M output tokens, not old Grok 3 rates. These are per-token replacement charges, not a monthly seat or consumer subscription. ISO currency, regional taxes, tool/other charges, billing arrangements and current app entitlements were not confirmed. The old freemium category is historical and not proof original-model free access.
Is Grok 3 open source?
A source-code link is a historical or repository reference. It does not mean the former hosted service is available, maintained or ready to run. Check the repository status and license separately. Neither this model name nor hosted/API access grants source or weight rights. Current API/enterprise terms retain relative input/output rights but restrict training other AI with outputs unless an order permits it; data processing, non-exclusive outputs and third-party rights remain relevant. API docs say no training without permission and default 30-day audit retention, with separate ZDR restrictions and contract exceptions. Consumer terms differ: broad content-use rights, account training controls and deletion exceptions apply; Grok on X uses X terms. These current terms are not certified as the original 2025 contract or a right to retired-model access.
What are the best alternatives to Grok 3?
Notable Conversational AI alternatives include ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini. Browse all 67 tools in our Conversational AI category for a full overview.
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Basic Info
- Historical pricing model
- Freemium
The historical pricing check date is not recorded; this is not a current offer.
No current original-model API price is offered by this retirement notice. It says the grok-3 alias bills at the replacement grok-4.3 rates, displayed as $1.25/1M input tokens and $2.50/1M output tokens, not old Grok 3 rates. These are per-token replacement charges, not a monthly seat or consumer subscription. ISO currency, regional taxes, tool/other charges, billing arrangements and current app entitlements were not confirmed. The old freemium category is historical and not proof original-model free access.
- Historical editorial score
- 4.3 / 5 How we score
- Platforms
- APIWebX integration
- Last verified
- Not recorded
