Claude Sonnet 4 vs GPT-5 (ChatGPT)
Wins 4 of 5 areas
Coding · Reasoning · Long documents · Following instructions
Wins 1 of 5 areas
Images and charts
Claude Sonnet 4 is the stronger all-rounder.GPT-5 (ChatGPT) is cheaper and better at images and charts.
Scores updated · 10 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the five areas where both have results. Each piece is one test, so a longer bar means more evidence; grey means the two scored within a point of each other.
- CodingWriting and fixing software20Claude Sonnet 42 of 2 tests
- ReasoningHard problems that need careful thinking20Claude Sonnet 42 of 2 tests
- Long documentsFinding answers in very long texts10Claude Sonnet 41 of 1 test
- Following instructionsDoing exactly what it is asked10Claude Sonnet 41 of 1 test
- Images and chartsUnderstanding pictures, charts and video01GPT-5 (ChatGPT)1 of 1 test
Images and charts, long documents and following instructions rest on a single test each.
What it costs
Prices per million tokens, roughly 750,000 words. The bars show the cost of a million tokens read plus a million written.
GPT-5 (ChatGPT) costs 38% less for the same work.
The biggest differences
The tests each model wins by the widest margin, up to three each. Scores are out of 100.
Where Claude Sonnet 4 pulls ahead
- Hard command-line tasks in a real terminalTerminal-Bench Hard+18.2points ahead
- Follows unfamiliar, precisely checkable instructionsIFBench+9.7points ahead
- Graduate-level biology, physics and chemistry questionsGPQA Diamond+9.1points ahead
Where GPT-5 (ChatGPT) pulls ahead
No clear win on a test scored out of 100.
Every test, side by side
All 10 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
CodingClaude Sonnet 4
- Terminal-Bench HardClaude Sonnet 4 by 18.231.112.9+18.2
- SciCodeClaude Sonnet 4 by 2.24037.8+2.2
ReasoningClaude Sonnet 4
- GPQA DiamondClaude Sonnet 4 by 9.177.768.6+9.1
- Humanity's Last ExamClaude Sonnet 4 by 4.110.76.6+4.1
Images and chartsGPT-5 (ChatGPT)
- LMArena · VisionGPT-5 (ChatGPT) by 41 rating points11911232+41 rating
Following instructionsClaude Sonnet 4
- IFBenchClaude Sonnet 4 by 9.754.745+9.7
Other results3 tests, not counted
Tests outside the eight areas. They are not counted above: several are summary scores built from other tests, or the same test under another name.
- τ²-Bench Telecom (AA run)Claude Sonnet 4 by 64.664.60+64.6
- Artificial Analysis Coding IndexClaude Sonnet 4 by 16.437.621.2+16.4
- AA IntelligenceClaude Sonnet 4 by 8.518.910.4+8.5
Questions people ask
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4 or GPT-5 (ChatGPT)?
Claude Sonnet 4 wins four of the five areas where both have results: coding, reasoning, long documents and following instructions. GPT-5 (ChatGPT) wins images and charts, and costs 38% less.
Which is better for coding?
Claude Sonnet 4. It wins 2 of the 2 coding tests both models report; GPT-5 (ChatGPT) wins none.
Which is cheaper?
Claude Sonnet 4 costs $3.00 per million input tokens and $15.00 per million output tokens; GPT-5 (ChatGPT) costs $1.25 and $10.00. That makes GPT-5 (ChatGPT) about 38% cheaper for the same work.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 10 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 7 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 3 are listed but not counted, because several are summary scores or repeat a test. Each score is the one shown on the model's own page.