Claude 3 Opus vs OpenAI o1
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 |
OpenAI o1
OpenAIReasoning model optimized for complex problem-solving. Excels at math, science, and advanced coding.
| Input | $15.00/M |
| Output | $60.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Complex math, advanced coding, scientific reasoning |
| Benchmark | 83/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Claude 3 Opus | OpenAI o1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 78 | 83 | o1 leads by 5pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 74 | 80 | o1 leads by 6pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 80 | 84 | o1 leads by 4pts |
| HumanEval | 94 | 95 | o1 leads by 1pts |
| BigCodeBench | 64 | 73 | o1 leads by 9pts |
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 | OpenAI o1 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $2.77 | $2.32 | OpenAI o1 saves $0.45 (16%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $20.25 | $17.25 | OpenAI o1 saves $3.00 (15%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $101.25 | $86.25 | OpenAI o1 saves $15.00 (15%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $4.50 | $4.13 | OpenAI o1 saves $0.38 (8%) |
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 |
| OpenAI o1 | 83 | $0.181/pt | Better value |
OpenAI o1 delivers the best value at $0.181 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Claude 3 Opus
- + Strong reasoning
- + Proven track record
- - Older generation
- - Expensive
OpenAI o1
- + Strong step-by-step reasoning
- + Best at math-heavy coding
- - Expensive
- - Slow
Verdict
Claude 3 Opus is cheaper at $15.00/M, but OpenAI o1 scores higher on benchmarks (83 vs 78).
Choose Claude 3 Opus for cost-sensitive projects, OpenAI o1 when performance matters most.
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.