GPT-4 vs OpenAI o3
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
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 Most expensive OpenAI model, largely superseded by newer options.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 |
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 | GPT-4 | OpenAI o3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68 | 85 | o3 leads by 17pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 60 | 82 | o3 leads by 22pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 70 | 88 | o3 leads by 18pts |
| HumanEval | 86 | 96 | o3 leads by 10pts |
| BigCodeBench | 54 | 74 | o3 leads by 20pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | GPT-4 | OpenAI o3 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $2.85 | $1.55 | OpenAI o3 saves $1.30 (46%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $22.50 | $11.50 | OpenAI o3 saves $11.00 (49%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $112.50 | $57.50 | OpenAI o3 saves $55.00 (49%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $6.75 | $2.75 | OpenAI o3 saves $4.00 (59%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4 | 68 | $0.441/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
GPT-4
- + Original breakthrough model
- - Two generations behind
- - Expensive
OpenAI o3
- + Latest reasoning model
- + Top-tier across all benchmarks
- - Very expensive
- - Slow
Verdict
OpenAI o3 wins on both price and performance — $10.00/M input with a benchmark score of 85/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
Compare with Other Models
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