Grok 3 vs GPT-4.1
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Grok 3
xAIxAI's flagship model. Strong general-purpose capability with real-time knowledge access through X platform integration.
| Input | $3.00/M |
| Output | $15.00/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | General coding, research tasks, current-event-aware applications |
| Benchmark | 70/100 |
GPT-4.1
OpenAIUpdated GPT-4 generation with improved instruction following and reduced hallucination. Better coding accuracy than GPT-4o.
| Input | $2.00/M |
| Output | $8.00/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | Production coding, API development, complex instructions |
| Benchmark | 80/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Grok 3 | GPT-4.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70 | 80 | GPT-4.1 leads by 10pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 64 | 76 | GPT-4.1 leads by 12pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 72 | 82 | GPT-4.1 leads by 10pts |
| HumanEval | 88 | 94 | GPT-4.1 leads by 6pts |
| BigCodeBench | 56 | 68 | GPT-4.1 leads by 12pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | Grok 3 | GPT-4.1 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.55 | $0.31 | GPT-4.1 saves $0.24 (44%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $4.05 | $2.30 | GPT-4.1 saves $1.75 (43%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $20.25 | $11.50 | GPT-4.1 saves $8.75 (43%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.90 | $0.55 | GPT-4.1 saves $0.35 (39%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grok 3 | 70 | $0.043/pt | Better value |
| GPT-4.1 | 80 | $0.063/pt | Higher cost per point |
Grok 3 delivers the best value at $0.043 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Grok 3
- + Strong reasoning
- + X integration
- - Newer model
- - Limited ecosystem
GPT-4.1
- + Latest GPT model
- + Strong across all benchmarks
- - Premium pricing
Verdict
GPT-4.1 wins on both price and performance — $2.00/M input with a benchmark score of 80/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
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