Model comparison
Claude 4 Sonnet vs GPT-4.1
Head-to-head evidence from 15 shared benchmark results across 6 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: Claude 4 Sonnet #168 (Supported); GPT-4.1 #111 (Supported). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Claude 4 Sonnet and GPT-4.1 share 15 comparable benchmark results. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 1 result is unique to Claude 4 Sonnet; 5 to GPT-4.1.
Updated July 24, 2026- Shared results
- 15
- Claude 4 Sonnet only
- 1
- GPT-4.1 only
- 5
- Comparable categories
- 1 / 8
Pick GPT-4.1 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Claude 4 Sonnet only becomes the better choice if coding is the priority.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 15 shared benchmark results across 6 evidence categories; 1 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
GPT-4.1 is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 50.44 to 41.92. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Claude 4 Sonnet is also the more expensive model on tokens at $3.00 input / $15.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $2.00 input / $8.00 output per 1M tokens for GPT-4.1. GPT-4.1 gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 200K for Claude 4 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 4 Sonnet | Δ | GPT-4.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | Claude 4 Sonnet72.7 | Margin← 18.1 | GPT-4.154.6 |
| Knowledge | Claude 4 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-4.166.3 |
| Math | Claude 4 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-4.14.1 |
| Inst. Following | Claude 4 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-4.187.4 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
SWE-bench Verified
CodingA 72.7%B 54.6%Winner: Claude 4 SonnetΔ 18.1SWE-bench Verified: Claude 4 Sonnet scored 72.7%; GPT-4.1 scored 54.6%. Claude 4 Sonnet wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Claude 4 Sonnet | GPT-4.1 | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Claude 4 Sonnet$3 input / $15 output | GPT-4.1$2 input / $8 output | GPT-4.1 has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Claude 4 Sonnet40 tok/s | GPT-4.1108 tok/s | GPT-4.1 has the higher measured throughput. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Claude 4 Sonnet1.33 s | GPT-4.11.02 s | GPT-4.1 reaches the first token sooner. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Claude 4 Sonnet200K | GPT-4.11M | GPT-4.1 lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic3 benchmarks
CodingClaude 4 Sonnet wins2 benchmarks
Reasoning2 benchmarks
Knowledge8 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 4 Sonnet | GPT-4.1 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 25.5% | 19.4% | Claude 4 Sonnet leads |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 68.3% | 66.6% | Claude 4 Sonnet leads |
| AA-HLESource | 4.0% | 4.6% | GPT-4.1 leads |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -9.2% | -36.2% | Claude 4 Sonnet leads |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 22.4% | 24.2% | GPT-4.1 leads |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 40.8% | 79.6% | Claude 4 Sonnet leads |
| MMLUSource | — | 90.2% | Not comparable |
| GPQASource | — | 66.3% | Not comparable |
Math2 benchmarks
Multimodal2 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (2)
Which is better, Claude 4 Sonnet or GPT-4.1?
GPT-4.1 is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 50.44 to 41.92. The biggest single separator in this matchup is SWE-bench Verified, where the scores are 72.7% and 54.6%.
Which is better for coding, Claude 4 Sonnet or GPT-4.1?
Claude 4 Sonnet has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 72.7 versus 54.6. Inside this category, SWE-bench Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.