GPT-4o vs GPT-4
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
GPT-4o
OpenAIOpenAI's flagship multimodal model. Strong coding and reasoning at competitive pricing.
| Input | $2.50/M |
| Output | $10.00/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | General coding, multimodal tasks, chatbots |
| Benchmark | 75/100 |
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 Most expensive OpenAI model, largely superseded by newer options.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 | GPT-4o | GPT-4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75 | 68 | GPT-4o leads by 7pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 70 | 60 | GPT-4o leads by 10pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 78 | 70 | GPT-4o leads by 8pts |
| HumanEval | 90 | 86 | GPT-4o leads by 4pts |
| BigCodeBench | 62 | 54 | GPT-4o leads by 8pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | GPT-4o | GPT-4 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.41 | $2.85 | GPT-4o saves $2.44 (86%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $3.06 | $22.50 | GPT-4o saves $19.44 (86%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $15.31 | $112.50 | GPT-4o saves $97.19 (86%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.78 | $6.75 | GPT-4o saves $5.97 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o | 75 | $0.033/pt | Better value |
| GPT-4 | 68 | $0.441/pt | Higher cost per point |
GPT-4o delivers the best value at $0.033 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
GPT-4o
- + Strong general-purpose
- + Good multimodal
- - Less consistent on coding than Claude
GPT-4
- + Original breakthrough model
- - Two generations behind
- - Expensive
Verdict
GPT-4o wins on both price and performance — $2.50/M input with a benchmark score of 75/100.
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 Opus
AnthropicFirst generation Opus. Highest reasoning capability in the Claude 3 family.
Claude 3 Sonnet
AnthropicFirst generation Sonnet. Balanced performance for general tasks.