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Claude Opus 4 vs GPT-4.1

A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.

Updated

Claude Opus 4 specs · GPT-4.1 specs
Verdict by category
  • PriceGPT-4.1

    GPT-4.1 is roughly 9.4× cheaper on output tokens ($8.00 vs $75.00 per 1M).

  • Context windowGPT-4.1

    GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K, 5.0× the room for long documents and codebases.

  • BenchmarksClaude Opus 4

    Claude Opus 4 leads in 1 of 1 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on HumanEval (Python coding), where it scores 95.0 vs 90.6.

  • ModalitiesTie

    Both handle text, vision.

  • OpennessTie

    Both are closed-weight, API-only.

On balance GPT-4.1 edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against Claude Opus 4's 1. GPT-4.1 is roughly 9.4× cheaper on output tokens ($8.00 vs $75.00 per 1M). GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K, 5.0× the room for long documents and codebases.

Claude Opus 4 leads in 1 of 1 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on HumanEval (Python coding), where it scores 95.0 vs 90.6. Both target the same set of modalities (text, vision), so the deciding factors are price, context, and raw quality. Both are closed-weight, API-only.

Claude Opus 4 is the newer of the two, released 1 months after GPT-4.1, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Claude Opus 4 is usually picked for coding llm and coding agent workloads, while GPT-4.1 sees more deployments in long context and rag. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.

Side-by-side specs

SpecClaude Opus 4GPT-4.1
ProviderAnthropicOpenAI
ReleasedMay 2025Apr 2025
Modalitiestext, visiontext, vision
Context window200K tokens1M tokens
Max output,32.8K tokens
Input · 1M$15.00 / 1M tokens$2.00 / 1M tokens
Output · 1M$75.00 / 1M tokens$8.00 / 1M tokens
Knowledge cutoff2025-032024-06
Open weightsNoNo
API availableYesYes

Pricing at scale

What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day$158 vs $18.00
  • Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$1,575 vs $180
  • RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$2,700 vs $348

Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $158 vs $18.00 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $1,575 vs $180 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $2,700 vs $348 per month, model B comes out ahead.

Price calculator

Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • Claude Opus 4$5.25
  • GPT-4.1$0.600

Benchmarks compared

Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.

Claude Opus 4GPT-4.1
  • MMLU,86.2
  • HumanEval95.090.6
  • SWE-bench Verified72.5
Pick Claude Opus 4 if

Claude Opus 4 fits when…

  • Set the SWE-bench bar at launch
  • Excellent for writing and code
  • Strong long-context handling
Pick GPT-4.1 if

GPT-4.1 fits when…

  • 1M-token context window, strong for long-doc workloads
  • Mature SDK and tooling integrations
  • Reliable JSON-mode and function-calling
  • Cost-sensitive workloads, 9.4× cheaper than Claude Opus 4 on output tokens.
  • Long-context tasks, handles 1M tokens vs 200K for Claude Opus 4.
Don't want either?

Consider Claude Opus 4.7

Anthropic's mid-2026 flagship, ahead on SWE-bench, agent reliability, and writing quality.

See Claude Opus 4.7 specsClaude Opus 4 vs Claude Opus 4.7GPT-4.1 vs Claude Opus 4.7

Frequently asked

  • Is Claude Opus 4 or GPT-4.1 cheaper?
    GPT-4.1 is cheaper at $8.00 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $75.00 / 1M tokens for Claude Opus 4.
  • Which has the larger context window?
    GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K for Claude Opus 4.
  • Is Claude Opus 4 or GPT-4.1 better for coding?
    Both Claude Opus 4 and GPT-4.1 are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.
  • Are either of these models open source?
    Neither model ships open weights, both are accessible only via their respective providers' APIs.
  • When were Claude Opus 4 and GPT-4.1 released?
    Claude Opus 4 was released by Anthropic on 2025-05-22. GPT-4.1 was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-14.
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