Claude Opus 4 vs OpenAI o3
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Claude Opus 4
AnthropicAnthropic's most powerful model. Best for complex reasoning and challenging coding tasks.
| Input | $15.00/M |
| Output | $75.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Complex architecture decisions, debugging hard bugs, research |
| Benchmark | 86/100 |
OpenAI o3
OpenAINext generation reasoning model. Improved coding and math over o1.
| Input | $10.00/M |
| Output | $40.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Advanced coding, complex problem-solving |
| Benchmark | 85/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Claude Opus 4 | OpenAI o3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86 | 85 | Claude Opus 4 leads by 1pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 84 | 82 | Claude Opus 4 leads by 2pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 88 | 88 | Claude Opus 4 leads by 0pts |
| HumanEval | 96 | 96 | Claude Opus 4 leads by 0pts |
| BigCodeBench | 76 | 74 | Claude Opus 4 leads by 2pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | Claude Opus 4 | OpenAI o3 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $3.08 | $1.55 | OpenAI o3 saves $1.53 (50%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $23.29 | $11.50 | OpenAI o3 saves $11.79 (51%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $116.44 | $57.50 | OpenAI o3 saves $58.94 (51%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $6.02 | $2.75 | OpenAI o3 saves $3.27 (54%) |
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 Opus 4 | 86 | $0.174/pt | Higher cost per point |
| OpenAI o3 | 85 | $0.167/pt | Better value |
OpenAI o3 delivers the best value at $0.167 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Claude Opus 4
- + Best at complex reasoning
- + Strong system design
- + Excellent debugging
- - Expensive for bulk tasks
- - Slower response times
OpenAI o3
- + Latest reasoning model
- + Top-tier across all benchmarks
- - Very expensive
- - Slow
Verdict
OpenAI o3 is cheaper at $10.00/M, but Claude Opus 4 scores higher on benchmarks (86 vs 85).
Choose OpenAI o3 for cost-sensitive projects, Claude Opus 4 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 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.
Claude 3 Haiku
AnthropicCheapest Claude model. Fast responses for simple tasks and basic coding.