Is GPT-4.1 or o4 cheaper?

Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.

Which has the larger context window?

GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K for o4.

Is GPT-4.1 or o4 better for coding?

Both GPT-4.1 and o4 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 o4 released?

GPT-4.1 was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-14. o4 was released by OpenAI on 2025-12-15.

Is GPT-4.1 or o4 cheaper?

Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.

Which has the larger context window?

GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K for o4.

Is GPT-4.1 or o4 better for coding?

Both GPT-4.1 and o4 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 o4 released?

GPT-4.1 was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-14. o4 was released by OpenAI on 2025-12-15.

GPT-4.1 vs o4

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

UpdatedApr 30, 2026

GPT-4.1 specs · o4 specs

Verdict by category

PriceGPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 publishes pricing ($8.00 / 1M output tokens) while o4 does not.
Context windowGPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K, 5.0× the room for long documents and codebases.
BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
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 o4's 0. GPT-4.1 publishes pricing ($8.00 / 1M output tokens) while o4 does not. GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K, 5.0× the room for long documents and codebases.

No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. 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.

o4 is the newer of the two, released 8 months after GPT-4.1, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. GPT-4.1 is usually picked for long context and rag workloads, while o4 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	o4
Provider	OpenAI	OpenAI
Released	Apr 2025	Dec 2025
Modalities	text, vision	text, vision
Context window	1M tokens	200K tokens
Max output	32.8K tokens	,
Input · 1M	$2.00 / 1M tokens	Pricing not published
Output · 1M	$8.00 / 1M tokens	Pricing not published
Knowledge cutoff	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 ,
Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$180 vs ,
RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$348 vs ,

Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).

Price calculator

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

Input tokens / dayOutput tokens / dayHorizon

GPT-4.1$0.600
o4Pricing unavailable

Benchmarks compared

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

GPT-4.1o4

MMLU86.2
HumanEval90.6

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
Long-context tasks, handles 1M tokens vs 200K for o4.

Pick o4 if

o4 fits when…

Exceptional performance on hard math and reasoning benchmarks
Good at multi-step planning and verification
Strong scientific reasoning

Don't want either?

Consider GPT-5.5

OpenAI's mid-cycle GPT-5 refresh, improved reasoning, tool use, and multimodal grounding over the 2025 launch.

See GPT-5.5 specs GPT-4.1 vs GPT-5.5 o4 vs GPT-5.5

Frequently asked

Is GPT-4.1 or o4 cheaper?
Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.
Which has the larger context window?
GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 200K for o4.
Is GPT-4.1 or o4 better for coding?
Both GPT-4.1 and o4 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 o4 released?
GPT-4.1 was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-14. o4 was released by OpenAI on 2025-12-15.

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