Model comparison
Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs GPT-4.1 mini
Head-to-head evidence from 3 shared benchmark results across 3 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: Claude 3.5 Sonnet #139 (Estimated); GPT-4.1 mini #160 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Claude 3.5 Sonnet and GPT-4.1 mini share 3 comparable benchmark results. 3 of 8 categories are comparable. 1 result is unique to Claude 3.5 Sonnet; 19 to GPT-4.1 mini.
Updated July 24, 2026- Shared results
- 3
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet only
- 1
- GPT-4.1 mini only
- 19
- Comparable categories
- 3 / 8
Pick Claude 3.5 Sonnet if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-4.1 mini only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 3 shared benchmark results across 3 evidence categories; 3 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 46.96 to 43.1. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet's sharpest advantage is in coding, where it averages 49 against 23.6. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is SWE-bench Verified, 49% to 23.6%. GPT-4.1 mini does hit back in knowledge, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is also the more expensive model on tokens at $3.00 input / $15.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.40 input / $1.60 output per 1M tokens for GPT-4.1 mini. That is roughly 9.4x on output cost alone. GPT-4.1 mini gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 200K for Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
Category breakdown
Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.
| Category | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Δ | GPT-4.1 mini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | Claude 3.5 Sonnet49.0 | Margin← 25.4 | GPT-4.1 mini23.6 |
| Knowledge | Claude 3.5 Sonnet59.4 | Margin→ 4.8 | GPT-4.1 mini64.2 |
| Math | Claude 3.5 Sonnet1.6 | Margin→ 2.9 | GPT-4.1 mini4.5 |
| Inst. Following | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-4.1 mini88.5 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
SWE-bench Verified
CodingA 49%B 23.6%Winner: Claude 3.5 SonnetΔ 25.4SWE-bench Verified: Claude 3.5 Sonnet scored 49%; GPT-4.1 mini scored 23.6%. Claude 3.5 Sonnet wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
GPQA
KnowledgeA 59.4%B 64.2%Winner: GPT-4.1 miniΔ 4.8GPQA: Claude 3.5 Sonnet scored 59.4%; GPT-4.1 mini scored 64.2%. GPT-4.1 mini wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)
MathA 2.069%B 4.483%Winner: GPT-4.1 miniΔ 2.4FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3): Claude 3.5 Sonnet scored 2.069%; GPT-4.1 mini scored 4.483%. GPT-4.1 mini wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-4.1 mini | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Claude 3.5 Sonnet$3 input / $15 output | GPT-4.1 mini$0.4 input / $1.6 output | GPT-4.1 mini has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot available | GPT-4.1 mini80 tok/s | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot available | GPT-4.1 mini0.76 s | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Claude 3.5 Sonnet200K | GPT-4.1 mini1M | GPT-4.1 mini lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic4 benchmarks
CodingClaude 3.5 Sonnet wins3 benchmarks
Reasoning2 benchmarks
KnowledgeGPT-4.1 mini wins8 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-4.1 mini | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQASource | 59.4% | 64.2% | GPT-4.1 mini leads |
| MMLUSource | — | 87.5% | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | — | 14.8% | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | — | 66.4% | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | — | 4.6% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | — | -50.1% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | — | 17.5% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | — | 82.0% | Not comparable |
MathGPT-4.1 mini wins2 benchmarks
Multimodal2 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (4)
Which is better, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4.1 mini?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 46.96 to 43.1. The biggest single separator in this matchup is SWE-bench Verified, where the scores are 49% and 23.6%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4.1 mini?
GPT-4.1 mini has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 64.2 versus 59.4. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for coding, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4.1 mini?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 49 versus 23.6. Inside this category, SWE-bench Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for math, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4.1 mini?
GPT-4.1 mini has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 4.5 versus 1.6. Inside this category, FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3) is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.