Model Comparison
Claude Opus 4.5 vs GPT-3.5 TurboWhich is better in 2026?
Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-3.5 Turbo is 13.3x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Claude Opus 4.5 vs GPT-3.5 Turbo — which is better?
Claude Opus 4.5 (by Anthropic) and GPT-3.5 Turbo (by OpenAI) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.
Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while GPT-3.5 Turbo is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, GPT-3.5 Turbo is roughly 13.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Claude Opus 4.5 also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Claude Opus 4.5 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2025
Choose GPT-3.5 Turbo if…
- cost matters — it's about 13.3x cheaper per token
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while GPT-3.5 Turbo is better at 0 benchmarks.
Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than GPT-3.5 Turbo ($0.50/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 16.7x more expensive than GPT-3.5 Turbo ($1.50/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.5 is more expensive than GPT-3.5 Turbo.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Claude Opus 4.5 accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo's 16,385 tokens. Claude Opus 4.5 can generate longer responses up to 64,000 tokens, while GPT-3.5 Turbo is limited to 4,096 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Claude Opus 4.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas GPT-3.5 Turbo does not.
Claude Opus 4.5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Claude Opus 4.5
GPT-3.5 Turbo
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.
Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.
Proprietary
Closed source
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Opus 4.5 was released on 2025-11-24, while GPT-3.5 Turbo was released on 2023-03-21.
Claude Opus 4.5 is 33 months newer than GPT-3.5 Turbo.
Nov 24, 2025
6 months ago
2.7yr newerMar 21, 2023
3.2 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Claude Opus 4.5 has a knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-31, while GPT-3.5 Turbo has a cutoff of 2021-09-30.
Claude Opus 4.5 has more recent training data (up to 2025-03-31), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo (2021-09-30).
Mar 2025
3.5 yr newerSep 2021
Provider Availability
Claude Opus 4.5 is available from Anthropic. GPT-3.5 Turbo is available from Azure, OpenAI.
Claude Opus 4.5
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Opus 4.5
View detailsAnthropic
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4.5 vs GPT-3.5 Turbo.