Model Comparison

Claude Sonnet 4 vs GPT-4.1Which is better in 2026?

Claude Sonnet 4 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. GPT-4.1 is 1.7x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Sonnet 4 vs GPT-4.1 — which is better?

Claude Sonnet 4 (by Anthropic) and GPT-4.1 (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 Sonnet 4 outperforms in 5 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, SWE-Bench Verified, TAU-bench Airline, TAU-bench Retail), while GPT-4.1 is better at 2 benchmarks (MMMLU, MMMU). Claude Sonnet 4 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

On price, GPT-4.1 is roughly 1.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

GPT-4.1 also accepts a larger context window (1,047,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Sonnet 4 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 7 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped May 2025

Choose GPT-4.1 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 1.7x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,047,576 token context window
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

7 benchmarks

Claude Sonnet 4 outperforms in 5 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, SWE-Bench Verified, TAU-bench Airline, TAU-bench Retail), while GPT-4.1 is better at 2 benchmarks (MMMLU, MMMU).

Claude Sonnet 4 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

GPT-4.1 costs less

For input processing, Claude Sonnet 4 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 1.5x more expensive than GPT-4.1 ($2.00/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Sonnet 4 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 1.9x more expensive than GPT-4.1 ($8.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 4 is more expensive than GPT-4.1.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAnthropic
OpenAI
GPT-4.1
Input tokens$2.00
Output tokens$8.00
Best providerOpenAI
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

GPT-4.1 accepts 1,047,576 input tokens compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 200,000 tokens. Claude Sonnet 4 can generate longer responses up to 64,000 tokens, while GPT-4.1 is limited to 32,768 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
OpenAI
GPT-4.1
Input1,047,576 tokens
Output32,768 tokens
Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Sonnet 4 and GPT-4.1 support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Claude Sonnet 4

Text
Images
Audio
Video

GPT-4.1

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.

Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.

Claude Sonnet 4

Proprietary

Closed source

GPT-4.1

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Sonnet 4 was released on 2025-05-22, while GPT-4.1 was released on 2025-04-14.

Claude Sonnet 4 is 1 month newer than GPT-4.1.

Claude Sonnet 4

May 22, 2025

1.0 years ago

1mo newer
GPT-4.1

Apr 14, 2025

1.1 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-4.1 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Claude Sonnet 4's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm GPT-4.1's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude Sonnet 4's cutoff date.

Claude Sonnet 4

—

GPT-4.1

Jun 2024

Provider Availability

Claude Sonnet 4 is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. GPT-4.1 is available from OpenAI.

Claude Sonnet 4

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M
bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M
google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

GPT-4.1

openai logo
OpenAI
Input Price:Input: $2.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $8.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Higher AIME 2025 score (70.5% vs 46.4%)
Higher GPQA score (75.4% vs 66.3%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (72.7% vs 54.6%)
Higher TAU-bench Airline score (60.0% vs 49.4%)
Higher TAU-bench Retail score (80.5% vs 68.0%)
OpenAI
Larger context window (1,047,576 tokens)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher MMMLU score (87.3% vs 86.5%)
Higher MMMU score (74.8% vs 74.4%)
AnthropicClaude Sonnet 4
OpenAIGPT-4.1
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Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4
OpenAI
GPT-4.1

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Sonnet 4 vs GPT-4.1.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4 or GPT-4.1?

Claude Sonnet 4 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 4 is made by Anthropic and GPT-4.1 is made by OpenAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Sonnet 4 compare to GPT-4.1 in benchmarks?

Claude Sonnet 4 scores MMMLU: 86.5%, TAU-bench Retail: 80.5%, GPQA: 75.4%, MMMU: 74.4%, SWE-Bench Verified: 72.7%. GPT-4.1 scores MMLU: 90.2%, CharXiv-D: 87.9%, IFEval: 87.4%, MMMLU: 87.3%, MMMU: 74.8%.

Is Claude Sonnet 4 cheaper than GPT-4.1?

GPT-4.1 is 1.5x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Sonnet 4 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. GPT-4.1 costs $2.00/M input and $8.00/M output via openai.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Sonnet 4 and GPT-4.1?

Claude Sonnet 4 supports 200K tokens and GPT-4.1 supports 1.0M tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Sonnet 4 and GPT-4.1?

Key differences include context window (200K vs 1.0M), input pricing ($3.00 vs $2.00/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Sonnet 4 and GPT-4.1?

Claude Sonnet 4 is developed by Anthropic and GPT-4.1 is developed by OpenAI.

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