Claude 3 Opus vs GPT-4.1
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Claude 3 Opus
AnthropicFirst generation Opus. Highest reasoning capability in the Claude 3 family.
| Input | $15.00/M |
| Output | $75.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Deep analysis, complex coding tasks |
| Benchmark | 78/100 |
GPT-4.1
OpenAIUpdated GPT-4 generation with improved instruction following and reduced hallucination. Better coding accuracy than GPT-4o.
| Input | $2.00/M |
| Output | $8.00/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | Production coding, API development, complex instructions |
| Benchmark | 80/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Claude 3 Opus | GPT-4.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 78 | 80 | GPT-4.1 leads by 2pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 74 | 76 | GPT-4.1 leads by 2pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 80 | 82 | GPT-4.1 leads by 2pts |
| HumanEval | 94 | 94 | Claude 3 Opus leads by 0pts |
| BigCodeBench | 64 | 68 | GPT-4.1 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 Opus | GPT-4.1 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $2.77 | $0.31 | GPT-4.1 saves $2.46 (89%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $20.25 | $2.30 | GPT-4.1 saves $17.95 (89%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $101.25 | $11.50 | GPT-4.1 saves $89.75 (89%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $4.50 | $0.55 | GPT-4.1 saves $3.95 (88%) |
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 Opus | 78 | $0.192/pt | Higher cost per point |
| GPT-4.1 | 80 | $0.063/pt | Better value |
GPT-4.1 delivers the best value at $0.063 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Claude 3 Opus
- + Strong reasoning
- + Proven track record
- - Older generation
- - Expensive
GPT-4.1
- + Latest GPT model
- + Strong across all benchmarks
- - Premium pricing
Verdict
GPT-4.1 wins on both price and performance — $2.00/M input with a benchmark score of 80/100.
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 Sonnet
AnthropicFirst generation Sonnet. Balanced performance for general tasks.
Claude 3 Haiku
AnthropicCheapest Claude model. Fast responses for simple tasks and basic coding.