Anthropic vs OpenAI
Complete comparison of Anthropic (9 models) and OpenAI (14 models) for AI coding projects. Updated April 2026.
Quick Verdict
Anthropic offers 9 models ranging from $0.250 to $15.00 per million input tokens. Cheapest: Claude 3 Haiku.
OpenAI offers 14 models ranging from $0.150 to $30.00 per million input tokens. Cheapest: GPT-4o mini.
Winner on price: OpenAI ($0.150/M input). Winner on average: Anthropic (avg $4.65/M).
Winner Per Scenario
Which provider has the cheapest model for each coding scenario?
| Scenario | Anthropic Best | OpenAI Best | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | Claude 3 Haiku — $0.05 | GPT-4o mini — $0.02 | OpenAI wins by $0.02 |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | Claude 3 Haiku — $0.34 | GPT-4o mini — $0.18 | OpenAI wins by $0.15 |
| Large Project (50K lines) | Claude 3 Haiku — $1.69 | GPT-4o mini — $0.92 | OpenAI wins by $0.77 |
| Code Review (5K lines) | Claude 3 Haiku — $0.07 | GPT-4o mini — $0.05 | OpenAI wins by $0.03 |
Head-to-Head Model Comparisons
Each Anthropic model matched against its closest-priced OpenAI competitor. Medium project cost (500K input + 200K output).
| Anthropic | OpenAI | Cost | Cost | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 4 | GPT-4o | $4.66 | $3.06 | GPT-4o saves $1.59 (34%) |
| Claude Opus 4 | OpenAI o1 | $23.29 | $17.25 | OpenAI o1 saves $6.04 (26%) |
| Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-4o | $4.66 | $3.06 | GPT-4o saves $1.59 (34%) |
| Claude 3.5 Haiku | GPT-3.5 Turbo | $1.24 | $0.48 | GPT-3.5 Turbo saves $0.77 (62%) |
| Claude 3 Opus | OpenAI o1 | $20.25 | $17.25 | OpenAI o1 saves $3.00 (15%) |
| Claude 3 Sonnet | GPT-4o | $4.05 | $3.06 | GPT-4o saves $0.99 (24%) |
| Claude 3 Haiku | GPT-4o mini | $0.34 | $0.18 | GPT-4o mini saves $0.15 (46%) |
| Claude 4 Haiku | GPT-3.5 Turbo | $1.24 | $0.48 | GPT-3.5 Turbo saves $0.77 (62%) |
| Claude Sonnet 4 Lite | OpenAI o1-mini | $1.55 | $1.27 | OpenAI o1-mini saves $0.29 (19%) |
Full Ranking — All 23 Models
Every model from both providers, ranked by medium project cost.
| # | Model | Provider | Input ($/M) | Medium Project |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GPT-4o mini | OpenAI | $0.150 | $0.18 |
| 2 | Claude 3 Haiku | Anthropic | $0.250 | $0.34 |
| 3 | GPT-4.1 mini | OpenAI | $0.400 | $0.46 |
| 4 | GPT-3.5 Turbo | OpenAI | $0.500 | $0.48 |
| 5 | Claude 3.5 Haiku | Anthropic | $0.800 | $1.24 |
| 6 | Claude 4 Haiku | Anthropic | $0.800 | $1.24 |
| 7 | OpenAI o1-mini | OpenAI | $1.10 | $1.27 |
| 8 | OpenAI o3-mini | OpenAI | $1.10 | $1.27 |
| 9 | OpenAI o4-mini | OpenAI | $1.10 | $1.27 |
| 10 | Claude Sonnet 4 Lite | Anthropic | $1.00 | $1.55 |
| 11 | GPT-4.1 | OpenAI | $2.00 | $2.30 |
| 12 | GPT-4o | OpenAI | $2.50 | $3.06 |
| 13 | Claude 3 Sonnet | Anthropic | $3.00 | $4.05 |
| 14 | Claude Sonnet 4 | Anthropic | $3.00 | $4.66 |
| 15 | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Anthropic | $3.00 | $4.66 |
| 16 | GPT-4 Turbo | OpenAI | $10.00 | $9.50 |
| 17 | OpenAI o3 | OpenAI | $10.00 | $11.50 |
| 18 | OpenAI o1 | OpenAI | $15.00 | $17.25 |
| 19 | Claude 3 Opus | Anthropic | $15.00 | $20.25 |
| 20 | GPT-4 | OpenAI | $30.00 | $22.50 |
| 21 | OpenAI o1 Pro | OpenAI | $20.00 | $23.00 |
| 22 | OpenAI o3 Pro | OpenAI | $20.00 | $23.00 |
| 23 | Claude Opus 4 | Anthropic | $15.00 | $23.29 |
Explore Individual Comparisons
Detailed side-by-side comparisons between specific models.