GPT-4o vs GPT-5
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
GPT-4o specs · GPT-5 specs- PriceTie
Both land near $10.00 / 1M output tokens, call it a wash on cost.
- Context windowGPT-5
GPT-5 accepts 400K tokens vs 128K, 3.1× the room for long documents and codebases.
- BenchmarksGPT-5
GPT-5 leads in 2 of 2 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on HumanEval (Python coding), where it scores 96.2 vs 90.2.
- ModalitiesTie
Both handle text, vision, audio.
- OpennessTie
Both are closed-weight, API-only.
On balance GPT-5 edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against GPT-4o's 0. Both land near $10.00 / 1M output tokens, call it a wash on cost. GPT-5 accepts 400K tokens vs 128K, 3.1× the room for long documents and codebases.
GPT-5 leads in 2 of 2 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on HumanEval (Python coding), where it scores 96.2 vs 90.2. Both target the same set of modalities (text, vision, audio), so the deciding factors are price, context, and raw quality. Both are closed-weight, API-only.
GPT-5 is the newer of the two, released 15 months after GPT-4o, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. GPT-4o is usually picked for chatbots and vision workloads, while GPT-5 sees more deployments in coding llm and agents. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | GPT-4o | GPT-5 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | OpenAI |
| Released | May 2024 | Aug 2025 |
| Modalities | text, vision, audio | text, vision, audio |
| Context window | 128K tokens | 400K tokens |
| Max output | , | 128K tokens |
| Input · 1M | $2.50 / 1M tokens | $1.25 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $10.00 / 1M tokens | $10.00 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-10 | 2024-09 |
| 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$22.50 vs $18.75
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$225 vs $188
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$435 vs $248
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $22.50 vs $18.75 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $225 vs $188 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $435 vs $248 per month, model B comes out ahead.
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- GPT-4o$0.750
- GPT-5$0.625
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
- MMLU88.791.4
- HumanEval90.296.2
- GPQA,89.4
- SWE-bench Verified,74.9
GPT-4o fits when…
- Native multimodal
- Mature SDK and tooling
GPT-5 fits when…
- Unified model, reasoning routed automatically per query
- Excellent tool-use and JSON-mode discipline
- Strong agent performance on SWE-bench Verified
- Long-context tasks, handles 400K tokens vs 128K for GPT-4o.
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-4o or GPT-5 cheaper?
Both GPT-4o and GPT-5 are priced equivalently at $10.00 / 1M tokens per million output tokens.Which has the larger context window?
GPT-5 accepts 400K tokens vs 128K for GPT-4o.Is GPT-4o or GPT-5 better for coding?
Both GPT-4o and GPT-5 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-4o and GPT-5 released?
GPT-4o was released by OpenAI on 2024-05-13. GPT-5 was released by OpenAI on 2025-08-07.
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