The Two Giants of 2025
As of November 2025, Claude 4 and GPT-4.1 represent the pinnacle of general-purpose AI. Both models have been battle-tested in enterprise environments, but they have distinct strengths. Let's break down the differences.
Performance Benchmarks
Coding
- Claude 4 Sonnet: 72.7% on SWE-Bench (industry-leading)
- GPT-4.1: 54.6% on SWE-Bench
Claude 4 significantly outperforms GPT-4.1 in software engineering benchmarks. GitHub chose Claude Sonnet 4 to power their new coding agent in GitHub Copilot.
General Reasoning
Both models perform comparably on general reasoning tasks, with Claude showing slight advantages in nuanced analysis and GPT-4.1 excelling in structured problem-solving.
Context Windows
- Claude 4: 200,000 tokens input
- GPT-4.1: 128,000 tokens input
Claude offers 56% more context, making it better for analyzing long documents or large codebases.
Output Capacity
- Claude 4 Sonnet: 64,000 tokens output
- GPT-4.1: 32,768 tokens output
Claude can generate responses twice as long, enabling generation of entire codebases or comprehensive reports in a single response.
Pricing Comparison (via LemonData)
| Model | Input (per 1M) | Output (per 1M) | Discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude 4 Sonnet | $2.10 | $10.50 | 30% off |
| GPT-4.1 | $0.80 | $3.20 | 60% off |
GPT-4.1 offers better value at 60% off through LemonData. Claude 4 is more expensive but may be worth it for complex coding tasks.
When to Choose Claude 4
- Complex code refactoring and review
- Long document analysis (200K context)
- When you need longer outputs (64K tokens)
- Nuanced writing and analysis
- Tasks requiring careful reasoning
When to Choose GPT-4.1
- Budget-conscious projects (better price-performance)
- API-first development
- Structured data processing
- When OpenAI ecosystem integration matters
- High-volume applications
Our Recommendation
Use GPT-4.1 as your default model for its excellent price-performance ratio. Switch to Claude 4 Sonnet for complex coding tasks, large codebase analysis, or when you need longer outputs.
With LemonData, you can use both models with the same API key and switch between them instantly. No code changes required.
