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GPT-5.4 vs Claude Opus 4.8 — Mid-Tier vs Premium

GPT-5.4 is 50% cheaper on input ($2.50 vs $5). But Opus 4.8 has 2.5x larger context (1M vs 400K). Which is right for you?

Pricing data verified: Jul 3, 2026

Cheaper Input

GPT-5.4

50% cheaper ($2.50 vs $5)

Larger Context

Opus 4.8

1M vs 400K (2.5x larger)

Cheaper Output

GPT-5.4

40% cheaper ($15 vs $25)

Head-to-Head Comparison

Mid-tier pricing vs premium capability with larger context.

Model	Provider	Tier	Input (per 1M)	Output (per 1M)	Context
GPT-5.4	OpenAI	Mid	$2.50	$15.00	400K
GPT-5.5	OpenAI	Premium	$5.00	$30.00	1.05M
Claude Opus 4.8	Anthropic	Premium	$5.00	$25.00	1M
Claude Sonnet 5	Anthropic	Mid	$3.00	$15.00	1M

Calculate Your Exact Costs

See the cost difference between these two models for your workload.

OpenAI Model

Anthropic Model

Input Tokens per Request

Output Tokens per Request

Requests per Day

Days per Month

OpenAI

GPT-5.4

$0.00

per month

Input cost$0.00

Output cost$0.00

Per request$0.00

Anthropic

Claude Opus 4.8

$0.00

per month

Input cost$0.00

Output cost$0.00

Per request$0.00

Which Should You Choose?

Cost-Sensitive Workloads

High-volume APIs, batch processing, general AI tasks.

Pick GPT-5.4: At $2.50/$15 it's 50% cheaper on input than Opus 4.8. Good capability at mid-tier pricing.

Large Document Processing

Processing long documents, codebases, or datasets.

Pick Opus 4.8: 1M context window (2.5x larger than GPT-5.4's 400K) handles large documents that GPT-5.4 can't fit.

Complex Reasoning

Multi-step analysis, research, advanced code generation.

Pick Opus 4.8: Anthropic's premium model excels at complex reasoning. The 2x input price premium is justified for high-stakes tasks.

High-Volume APIs

Processing millions of tokens per day in production.

Pick GPT-5.4: At 50% lower input cost, GPT-5.4 is better for high-volume production. Opus 4.8's premium adds up at scale.

Code Generation

Complex code, architecture decisions, debugging.

Pick Opus 4.8: Anthropic's models excel at code generation. The 1M context lets you process entire codebases for better results.

Budget-Conscious Teams

Startups and small teams watching every dollar.

Pick GPT-5.4: At $2.50 input, GPT-5.4 offers good capability at mid-tier pricing. Start here and upgrade to Opus 4.8 when you need larger context.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is GPT-5.4 or Claude Opus 4.8 cheaper?

GPT-5.4 is cheaper on input at $2.50 vs Opus 4.8's $5.00 (50% cheaper). Output is also cheaper at $15 vs $25 (40% cheaper). However, Opus 4.8 has a 2.5x larger context window (1M vs 400K).

What is Claude Opus 4.8 used for?

Claude Opus 4.8 at $5/$25 is Anthropic's premium model, designed for complex reasoning, code generation, analysis, and tasks requiring high accuracy. It has a 1M token context window, making it ideal for processing large documents and codebases.

When should I use GPT-5.4 vs Opus 4.8?

GPT-5.4 ($2.50/$15) is better for cost-sensitive workloads where you need good capability at lower price. Opus 4.8 ($5/$25) is better for tasks requiring larger context (1M vs 400K) or when you need Anthropic's premium reasoning capabilities.

Does Opus 4.8 have a larger context window?

Yes. Opus 4.8 has a 1M token context window, while GPT-5.4 has 400K. That's 2.5x larger. For tasks requiring processing large documents, codebases, or datasets, Opus 4.8 offers significantly more capacity.

Can I use both models together?

Yes! A cost-effective pattern: use GPT-5.4 ($2.50/$15) for most tasks and route large-context or complex reasoning tasks to Opus 4.8 ($5/$25). This gives you Anthropic's premium capability where needed while keeping costs manageable.