Both Claude Opus 4 and GPT-5 are top-tier AI models, but they excel in different areas. Here’s how they compare.
At a glance
| Claude Opus 4 | GPT-5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic | OpenAI |
| Context window | 200K tokens | 128K tokens |
| Input price | $15 / 1M tokens | $10 / 1M tokens |
| Output price | $75 / 1M tokens | $30 / 1M tokens |
| Coding (SWE-bench) | ~76.8% | ~71.8% |
| Multimodal | Text + images | Text + images + audio |
| Subscription | $20/mo (Claude Pro) | $20/mo (ChatGPT Plus) |
Coding
Claude Opus 4 has the edge here. It scores higher on SWE-bench and tends to produce cleaner, more complete code on the first try. Developers working on complex multi-file refactors or architecture decisions generally prefer Opus.
GPT-5 is no slouch — it’s significantly better than GPT-4o and handles most coding tasks well. But for advanced coding work, Opus is the current leader.
Winner: Claude Opus 4 🏆
Reasoning
GPT-5 excels at multi-step reasoning and math. It scored perfectly on AIME benchmarks and handles complex logical chains well. Opus 4 is strong too, but GPT-5 has a slight edge on pure reasoning tasks.
Winner: GPT-5 🏆
Context & long documents
Opus 4 supports 200K tokens vs GPT-5’s 128K. If you’re working with large codebases, long documents, or need to process a lot of context at once, Opus gives you more room.
Winner: Claude Opus 4 🏆
Price
GPT-5 is cheaper on both input and output. If you’re making heavy API use, the cost difference adds up — especially on output tokens where Opus is 2.5x more expensive.
Winner: GPT-5 🏆
Which should you pick?
| Use case | Pick |
|---|---|
| Complex coding projects | Claude Opus 4 |
| Math & reasoning tasks | GPT-5 |
| Large codebase analysis | Claude Opus 4 (bigger context) |
| Budget-conscious API use | GPT-5 |
| General assistant | Either — both excellent |
| Multimodal (audio) | GPT-5 |
Bottom line
For coding and long-context work, Claude Opus 4 is the better choice. For reasoning, math, and cost efficiency, GPT-5 wins. Both are excellent — you can’t go wrong with either at the $20/mo subscription tier.
The real answer: try both. Both offer free tiers or trials.
See our full AI Model Comparison for all models side by side.