GPT-4.1 vs o3
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
GPT-4.1 specs · o3 specs- PriceTie
Both land near $8.00 / 1M output tokens, call it a wash on cost.
- Context windowGPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K, 5.0× the room for long documents and codebases.
- Benchmarkso3
o3 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.
It's a genuine coin-flip between GPT-4.1 and o3: 1 category wins each, with the rest tied. Both land near $8.00 / 1M output tokens, call it a wash on cost. GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K, 5.0× the room for long documents and codebases.
o3 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.
Both shipped within roughly a month of each other in 2025, so they share the same generation of training data and tooling. GPT-4.1 is usually picked for long context and rag workloads, while o3 sees more deployments in reasoning and math. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | GPT-4.1 | o3 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | OpenAI |
| Released | Apr 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| Modalities | text, vision | text, vision |
| Context window | 1M tokens | 200K tokens |
| Max output | 32.8K tokens | , |
| Input · 1M | $2.00 / 1M tokens | $2.00 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $8.00 / 1M tokens | $8.00 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-06 | 2024-06 |
| Open weights | No | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
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$18.00 vs $18.00
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$180 vs $180
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$348 vs $348
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: both models cost about $18.00 a month, call it a tie. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: both models cost about $180 a month, call it a tie. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: both models cost about $348 a month, call it a tie.
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- GPT-4.1$0.600
- o3$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.
- MMLU86.2
- HumanEval90.695.0
- GPQA,87.7
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
- Long-context tasks, handles 1M tokens vs 200K for o3.
o3 fits when…
- Industry-leading reasoning depth at launch
- Strong on math, science, and abstract puzzles
- Tool-use during reasoning loops
Consider GPT-5.5
OpenAI's mid-cycle GPT-5 refresh, improved reasoning, tool use, and multimodal grounding over the 2025 launch.
Frequently asked
Is GPT-4.1 or o3 cheaper?
Both GPT-4.1 and o3 are priced equivalently at $8.00 / 1M tokens per million output tokens.Which has the larger context window?
GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K for o3.Is GPT-4.1 or o3 better for coding?
Both GPT-4.1 and o3 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 GPT-4.1 and o3 released?
GPT-4.1 was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-14. o3 was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-16.
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