Model comparison
Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-4.1
Head-to-head evidence from 12 shared benchmark results across 4 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: Claude Sonnet 5 #29 (Estimated); GPT-4.1 #108 (Supported). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Claude Sonnet 5 and GPT-4.1 share 12 comparable benchmark results. 2 of 8 categories are comparable. 24 results are unique to Claude Sonnet 5; 8 to GPT-4.1.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 12
- Claude Sonnet 5 only
- 24
- GPT-4.1 only
- 8
- Comparable categories
- 2 / 8
Pick Claude Sonnet 5 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-4.1 only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 12 shared benchmark results across 4 evidence categories; 2 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
Claude Sonnet 5 is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 65.32 to 51.11. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Claude Sonnet 5's sharpest advantage is in coding, where it averages 76.7 against 54.6. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is SWE-bench Verified, 85.2% to 54.6%. GPT-4.1 does hit back in knowledge, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.
Claude Sonnet 5 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $2.00 input / $10.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $2.00 input / $8.00 output per 1M tokens for GPT-4.1. Claude Sonnet 5 is the reasoning model in the pair, while GPT-4.1 is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use.
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 | Claude Sonnet 5 | Δ | GPT-4.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | Claude Sonnet 576.7 | Margin← 22.1 | GPT-4.154.6 |
| Knowledge | Claude Sonnet 557.4 | Margin→ 8.9 | GPT-4.166.3 |
| Agentic | Claude Sonnet 581.9 | MarginNo overlap | GPT-4.1Not measured |
| Math | Claude Sonnet 5Not measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-4.14.1 |
| Multimodal | Claude Sonnet 588.3 | MarginNo overlap | GPT-4.1Not measured |
| Inst. Following | Claude Sonnet 5Not measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-4.187.4 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
SWE-bench Verified
CodingA 85.2%B 54.6%Winner: Claude Sonnet 5Δ 30.6SWE-bench Verified: Claude Sonnet 5 scored 85.2%; GPT-4.1 scored 54.6%. Claude Sonnet 5 wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Claude Sonnet 5 | GPT-4.1 | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Claude Sonnet 5$2 input / $10 output | GPT-4.1$2 input / $8 output | GPT-4.1 has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Claude Sonnet 5Not available | GPT-4.1108 tok/s | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Claude Sonnet 5Not available | GPT-4.11.02 s | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Claude Sonnet 51M | GPT-4.11M | Listed context windows are equal. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic15 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 5 | GPT-4.1 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 80.4% | — | Not comparable |
| BrowseCompSource | 84.7% | — | Not comparable |
| HLE w/ toolsSource | 57.4% | — | Not comparable |
| OSWorld-VerifiedSource | 81.2% | — | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | 1607 | — | Not comparable |
| AA Agentic IndexSource | 46.7% | — | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | 55.4% | — | Not comparable |
| AA BriefcaseSource | 1388 | — | Not comparable |
| AA AutomationBenchSource | 39.2% | — | Not comparable |
| AA EnterpriseOps-GymSource | 44.7% | — | Not comparable |
| AA Harvey LABSource | 90.1% | — | Not comparable |
| AA Tau3 BankingSource | 28.2% | — | Not comparable |
| aaTerminalBench21Source | 80.5% | — | Not comparable |
| τ²-bench resultsSource | — | 47.1% | Not comparable |
| Gert LabsSource | — | 25.65% | Not comparable |
CodingClaude Sonnet 5 wins9 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 5 | GPT-4.1 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench VerifiedSource | 85.2% | 54.6% | Claude Sonnet 5 leads |
| SWE-bench ProSource | 63.2% | — | Not comparable |
| SWE MultilingualSource | 78.3% | — | Not comparable |
| SWE MultimodalSource | 28.1% | — | Not comparable |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 80.4% | — | Not comparable |
| FrontierCode 1.1 MainSource | 42.7% | — | Not comparable |
| cursorBench32Source | 61.5% | — | Not comparable |
| AA Coding IndexSource | 71.5% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-SciCodeSource | 53.6% | 38.1% | Claude Sonnet 5 leads |
Reasoning2 benchmarks
KnowledgeGPT-4.1 wins10 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 5 | GPT-4.1 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| HLESource | 57.4% | — | Not comparable |
| HLE w/o toolsSource | 43.2% | — | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 53.4% | 19.4% | Claude Sonnet 5 leads |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 91.1% | 66.6% | Claude Sonnet 5 leads |
| AA-HLESource | 39.6% | 4.6% | Claude Sonnet 5 leads |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | 15.3% | -36.2% | Claude Sonnet 5 leads |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 38.3% | 24.2% | Claude Sonnet 5 leads |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 37.3% | 79.6% | Claude Sonnet 5 leads |
| MMLUSource | — | 90.2% | Not comparable |
| GPQASource | — | 66.3% | Not comparable |
Math2 benchmarks
Multimodal4 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (3)
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-4.1?
Claude Sonnet 5 is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 65.32 to 51.11. The biggest single separator in this matchup is SWE-bench Verified, where the scores are 85.2% and 54.6%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-4.1?
GPT-4.1 has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 66.3 versus 57.4. Inside this category, AA-Omniscience Index is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for coding, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-4.1?
Claude Sonnet 5 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 76.7 versus 54.6. Inside this category, SWE-bench Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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