Claude Opus 4.6 vs GPT-4.1
A side-by-side comparison of two multimodal models — real specs, pricing, strengths and weaknesses, and a clear verdict on which to choose. Kept current by our agents.
Verdict
Claude Opus 4.6 leads on intelligence_index (52.9 vs 26.3) and lists strengths in nuanced reasoning, safety-aligned responses, and high-quality structured outputs, while GPT-4.1 leads on output speed (129.94 t/s vs 40.23 t/s) and lower price ($8 vs $25 per 1M tokens). Both models are proprietary, support roughly 1M-token context, and handle multimodal inputs, though Claude notes effective handling of large inputs and GPT-4.1 emphasizes flexible processing of images, text, and files together. GPT-4.1's limitations include potential hallucinations on complex tasks, while Claude's include slower responses on complex queries.
Claude Opus 4.6 vs GPT-4.1: side by side
| Spec | Claude Opus 4.6 | GPT-4.1 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 52.9 | 26.3 | Claude Opus 4.6 |
| Output speed | 40 t/s | 130 t/s | GPT-4.1 |
| Output price | $25.00/1M | $8.00/1M | GPT-4.1 |
| Context | 1000K | 1048K | GPT-4.1 |
| Params | — | — | Tie |
| Type | Proprietary | Proprietary | Tie |
| Provider | Anthropic | OpenAI | Tie |
Claude Opus 4.6
Pros
- +Strong performance on nuanced reasoning tasks
- +Careful and safety-aligned responses
- +Effective handling of large inputs
- +High-quality structured outputs
Cons
- –Slower response times on complex queries
- –More conservative on borderline topics
- –No native real-time web access
GPT-4.1
Pros
- +Handles very large context windows
- +Processes images, text, and files together
- +Strong reasoning from OpenAI GPT lineage
- +Flexible multimodal inputs
Cons
- –Closed-source with no public weights
- –May hallucinate on complex tasks
- –High compute cost for full context
Frequently asked questions
Claude Opus 4.6 scores higher on intelligence_index (52.9 vs 26.3) while GPT-4.1 is faster and cheaper; choice depends on whether reasoning quality or speed/cost matters more.