Head-to-head comparison across 2benchmark categories. Overall scores shown here use BenchLM's provisional ranking lane.
Claude Sonnet 5
94
GPT-4.1
56
Pick Claude Sonnet 5 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-4.1 only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.
Coding
+8.6 difference
Knowledge
+8.9 difference
Claude Sonnet 5
GPT-4.1
$3 / $15
$2 / $8
N/A
108 t/s
N/A
1.02s
1M
1M
Pick Claude Sonnet 5 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-4.1 only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.
Claude Sonnet 5 is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 94 to 56. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Claude Sonnet 5's sharpest advantage is in coding, where it averages 63.2 against 54.6. GPT-4.1 does hit back in knowledge, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.
Claude Sonnet 5 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. Claude Sonnet 5 is the reasoning model in the pair, while GPT-4.1 is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use.
Claude Sonnet 5 is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 94 to 56.
GPT-4.1 has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 66.3 versus 57.4. Claude Sonnet 5 stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
Claude Sonnet 5 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 63.2 versus 54.6. GPT-4.1 stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
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