Model comparison
GPT-5.4 vs Grok 4.20
Head-to-head evidence from 18 shared benchmark results across 5 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: GPT-5.4 #10 (Supported); Grok 4.20 #93 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. GPT-5.4 and Grok 4.20 share 18 comparable benchmark results. 4 of 8 categories are comparable. 36 results are unique to GPT-5.4; 1 to Grok 4.20.
Updated July 28, 2026- Shared results
- 18
- GPT-5.4 only
- 36
- Grok 4.20 only
- 1
- Comparable categories
- 4 / 8
Pick GPT-5.4 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Grok 4.20 only becomes the better choice if coding is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 18 shared benchmark results across 5 evidence categories; 4 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
GPT-5.4 is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 73.25 to 53.88. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
GPT-5.4's sharpest advantage is in agentic, where it averages 77.2 against 47.1. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is Terminal-Bench 2.0, 75.1% to 47.1%. Grok 4.20 does hit back in coding, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.
GPT-5.4 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $2.50 input / $15.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $2.00 input / $6.00 output per 1M tokens for Grok 4.20. That is roughly 2.5x on output cost alone. Grok 4.20 gives you the larger context window at 2M, compared with 1.05M for GPT-5.4.
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 | GPT-5.4 | Δ | Grok 4.20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agentic | GPT-5.477.2 | Margin← 30.1 | Grok 4.2047.1 |
| Reasoning | GPT-5.474.0 | Margin← 20.7 | Grok 4.2053.3 |
| Coding | GPT-5.457.7 | Margin→ 9.4 | Grok 4.2067.1 |
| Multimodal | GPT-5.473.2 | Margin← 3.1 | Grok 4.2070.1 |
| Knowledge | GPT-5.457.6 | MarginNo overlap | Grok 4.20Not measured |
| Math | GPT-5.442.5 | MarginNo overlap | Grok 4.20Not measured |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
Terminal-Bench 2.0
AgenticA 75.1%B 47.1%Winner: GPT-5.4Δ 28Terminal-Bench 2.0: GPT-5.4 scored 75.1%; Grok 4.20 scored 47.1%. GPT-5.4 wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
CharXiv
MultimodalA 82.8%B 60.9%Winner: GPT-5.4Δ 21.9CharXiv: GPT-5.4 scored 82.8%; Grok 4.20 scored 60.9%. GPT-5.4 wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
ARC-AGI-2
ReasoningA 74.0%B 53.3%Winner: GPT-5.4Δ 20.7ARC-AGI-2: GPT-5.4 scored 74.0%; Grok 4.20 scored 53.3%. GPT-5.4 wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
MMMU-Pro
MultimodalA 81.2%B 75.2%Winner: GPT-5.4Δ 6MMMU-Pro: GPT-5.4 scored 81.2%; Grok 4.20 scored 75.2%. GPT-5.4 wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
SWE-bench Pro
CodingA 57.7%B 51.8%Winner: GPT-5.4Δ 5.9SWE-bench Pro: GPT-5.4 scored 57.7%; Grok 4.20 scored 51.8%. GPT-5.4 wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | GPT-5.4 | Grok 4.20 | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | GPT-5.4$2.5 input / $15 output | Grok 4.20$2 input / $6 output | Grok 4.20 has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | GPT-5.474 tok/s | Grok 4.20233 tok/s | Grok 4.20 has the higher measured throughput. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | GPT-5.4151.79 s | Grok 4.2010.33 s | Grok 4.20 reaches the first token sooner. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | GPT-5.41.05M | Grok 4.202M | Grok 4.20 lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
AgenticGPT-5.4 wins17 benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-5.4 | Grok 4.20 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 75.1% | 47.1% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| CyberGymSource | 79.0% | — | Not comparable |
| BrowseCompSource | 82.7% | — | Not comparable |
| OSWorld-VerifiedSource | 75% | — | Not comparable |
| MCP AtlasSource | 70.6% | — | Not comparable |
| ToolathlonSource | 54.6% | — | Not comparable |
| τ²-bench resultsSource | 98.9% | — | Not comparable |
| Claw-EvalSource | 60.3% | — | Not comparable |
| DeepSearchQASource | 73.6% | 62.8% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| AA Agentic IndexSource | 41.1% | — | Not comparable |
| APEX-Agents-AASource | 33.3% | — | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | 44.6% | — | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | 1392 | — | Not comparable |
| Gert LabsSource | 64.89% | 38.36% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| ResearchClawBenchSource | 15.3% | — | Not comparable |
| JobBenchSource | 38.9% | — | Not comparable |
| ExploitGymSource | 6.0% | — | Not comparable |
CodingGrok 4.20 wins7 benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-5.4 | Grok 4.20 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveCodeBench ProSource | 87.5% | 74.2% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| SWE-bench ProSource | 57.7% | 51.8% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| React Native EvalsSource | 85.3% | — | Not comparable |
| Vibe Code BenchSource | 67.42% | 4.06% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| AA Coding IndexSource | 71.0% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-SciCodeSource | 56.6% | — | Not comparable |
| SWE-bench VerifiedSource | — | 76.7% | Not comparable |
ReasoningGPT-5.4 wins4 benchmarks
Knowledge13 benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-5.4 | Grok 4.20 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQASource | 92.8% | — | Not comparable |
| HLESource | 52.1% | — | Not comparable |
| HLE w/o toolsSource | 39.8% | 31.6% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| GPQA-DSource | 92.8% | 88.5% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| HealthBench HardSource | 40.1% | 20.3% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| MedXpertQA (Text)Source | 59.6% | 50.2% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 51.4% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 92.0% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | 41.6% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | 5.7% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 50.0% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 88.6% | — | Not comparable |
| HealthBench ProfessionalSource | 48.1% | — | Not comparable |
Math2 benchmarks
MultimodalGPT-5.4 wins11 benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-5.4 | Grok 4.20 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMMU-ProSource | 81.2% | 75.2% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| OfficeQA ProSource | 53.2% | — | Not comparable |
| MMMU-Pro w/ PythonSource | 82.1% | — | Not comparable |
| CharXivSource | 82.8% | 60.9% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| ERQASource | 65.4% | 54.1% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| SimpleVQASource | 61.1% | 57.4% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| ScreenSpot ProSource | 85.4% | — | Not comparable |
| ZeroBenchSource | 41.0% | — | Not comparable |
| MedXpertQA (MM)Source | 77.1% | 65.8% | GPT-5.4 leads |
| AA-MMMU-ProSource | 78.4% | — | Not comparable |
| Design Arena WebsiteSource | 1245 | 1252 | Grok 4.20 leads |
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-5.4 | Grok 4.20 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | 73.9% | — | Not comparable |
Frequently Asked Questions (5)
Which is better, GPT-5.4 or Grok 4.20?
GPT-5.4 is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 73.25 to 53.88. The biggest single separator in this matchup is Terminal-Bench 2.0, where the scores are 75.1% and 47.1%.
Which is better for coding, GPT-5.4 or Grok 4.20?
Grok 4.20 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 67.1 versus 57.7. Inside this category, Vibe Code Bench is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for reasoning, GPT-5.4 or Grok 4.20?
GPT-5.4 has the edge for reasoning in this comparison, averaging 74 versus 53.3. Inside this category, ARC-AGI-2 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for agentic tasks, GPT-5.4 or Grok 4.20?
GPT-5.4 has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 77.2 versus 47.1. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for multimodal and grounded tasks, GPT-5.4 or Grok 4.20?
GPT-5.4 has the edge for multimodal and grounded tasks in this comparison, averaging 73.2 versus 70.1. Inside this category, CharXiv is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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