Claude Sonnet 4 vs GPT-4
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Claude Sonnet 4
AnthropicAnthropic's balanced model for coding and general tasks. Best price-performance ratio in the Claude family.
| Input | $3.00/M |
| Output | $15.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Day-to-day coding, code review, documentation |
| Benchmark | 78/100 |
GPT-4
OpenAIOriginal GPT-4. Most expensive OpenAI model, largely superseded by newer options.
| Input | $30.00/M |
| Output | $60.00/M |
| Context | 8K tokens |
| Best For | Legacy applications requiring GPT-4 specifically |
| Benchmark | 68/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 4 | GPT-4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 78 | 68 | Claude Sonnet 4 leads by 10pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 74 | 60 | Claude Sonnet 4 leads by 14pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 82 | 70 | Claude Sonnet 4 leads by 12pts |
| HumanEval | 92 | 86 | Claude Sonnet 4 leads by 6pts |
| BigCodeBench | 64 | 54 | Claude Sonnet 4 leads by 10pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | Claude Sonnet 4 | GPT-4 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.62 | $2.85 | Claude Sonnet 4 saves $2.23 (78%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $4.66 | $22.50 | Claude Sonnet 4 saves $17.84 (79%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $23.29 | $112.50 | Claude Sonnet 4 saves $89.21 (79%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $1.20 | $6.75 | Claude Sonnet 4 saves $5.55 (82%) |
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 Sonnet 4 | 78 | $0.038/pt | Better value |
| GPT-4 | 68 | $0.441/pt | Higher cost per point |
Claude Sonnet 4 delivers the best value at $0.038 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Claude Sonnet 4
- + Price-performance leader
- + Strong at web development
- + Excellent code review
- - Struggles with complex algorithms
- - Less consistent on system design
GPT-4
- + Original breakthrough model
- - Two generations behind
- - Expensive
Verdict
Claude Sonnet 4 wins on both price and performance — $3.00/M input with a benchmark score of 78/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
Compare with Other Models
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.
Claude 3 Haiku
AnthropicCheapest Claude model. Fast responses for simple tasks and basic coding.