Claude 3 Haiku vs GPT-3.5 Turbo
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Claude 3 Haiku
AnthropicCheapest Claude model. Fast responses for simple tasks and basic coding.
| Input | $0.250/M |
| Output | $1.25/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Simple queries, fast responses, cost-sensitive tasks |
| Benchmark | 45/100 |
GPT-3.5 Turbo
OpenAIBudget model for simple tasks. Being phased out but still widely used.
| Input | $0.500/M |
| Output | $1.50/M |
| Context | 16K tokens |
| Best For | Simple chatbots, basic text generation |
| Benchmark | 40/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Claude 3 Haiku | GPT-3.5 Turbo | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 45 | 40 | Claude 3 Haiku leads by 5pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 38 | 32 | Claude 3 Haiku leads by 6pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 46 | 42 | Claude 3 Haiku leads by 4pts |
| HumanEval | 68 | 62 | Claude 3 Haiku leads by 6pts |
| BigCodeBench | 30 | 26 | Claude 3 Haiku leads by 4pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | Claude 3 Haiku | GPT-3.5 Turbo | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.05 | $0.06 | Claude 3 Haiku saves $0.02 (26%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.34 | $0.48 | Claude 3 Haiku saves $0.14 (29%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $1.69 | $2.38 | Claude 3 Haiku saves $0.69 (29%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.07 | $0.13 | Claude 3 Haiku saves $0.05 (40%) |
Value Analysis (Price per Benchmark Score Point)
Lower is better — how much you pay for each point of benchmark performance.
| Model | Overall Score | Price per Score Point | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude 3 Haiku | 45 | $0.006/pt | Better value |
| GPT-3.5 Turbo | 40 | $0.013/pt | Higher cost per point |
Claude 3 Haiku delivers the best value at $0.006 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Claude 3 Haiku
- + Very cheap
- + Fast
- - Basic capability only
GPT-3.5 Turbo
- + Ultra-cheap
- + Very fast
- - Basic coding only
Verdict
Claude 3 Haiku wins on both price and performance — $0.250/M input with a benchmark score of 45/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
Compare with Other Models
Claude Sonnet 4
AnthropicAnthropic's balanced model for coding and general tasks. Best price-performance ratio in the Claude family.
Claude Opus 4
AnthropicAnthropic's most powerful model. Best for complex reasoning and challenging coding tasks.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
AnthropicPrevious generation Sonnet. Still excellent for coding tasks at the same price point.
Claude 3.5 Haiku
AnthropicFast, cost-effective model for high-volume tasks. Great for code review and simple queries.
Claude 3 Opus
AnthropicFirst generation Opus. Highest reasoning capability in the Claude 3 family.
Claude 3 Sonnet
AnthropicFirst generation Sonnet. Balanced performance for general tasks.