Claude 3.5 Haiku vs GPT-4o Mini (07-18)

Claude 3.5 Haiku (2024) and GPT-4o Mini (07-18) (2024) are frontier reasoning models from Anthropic and OpenAI. Claude 3.5 Haiku ships a 200K-token context window, while GPT-4o Mini (07-18) ships a 128K-token context window. On LMArena Text Arena - Creative Writing, GPT-4o Mini (07-18) leads by 36 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.

GPT-4o Mini (07-18) is ~433% cheaper at $0.15/1M; pay for Claude 3.5 Haiku only for coding workflow support.

Decision scorecard

Local evidence first
SignalClaude 3.5 HaikuGPT-4o Mini (07-18)
Best forreasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and provider-routed productionmultimodal apps and provider-routed production
Decision fitCoding, RAG, and AgentsCoding, RAG, and Agents
Context window200K128K
Cheapest output$4/1M tokens$0.60/1M tokens
Provider routes6 tracked3 tracked
Shared benchmarks1 sharedLMArena Text Arena - Creative Writing leader

Decision tradeoffs

Choose Claude 3.5 Haiku when...
  • Claude 3.5 Haiku has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
  • Claude 3.5 Haiku has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
  • Claude 3.5 Haiku uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
  • Local decision data tags Claude 3.5 Haiku for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Choose GPT-4o Mini (07-18) when...
  • GPT-4o Mini (07-18) holds a shared-benchmark lead on LMArena Text Arena - Creative Writing, ahead by 36 points.
  • GPT-4o Mini (07-18) has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.60/1M tokens.
  • Local decision data tags GPT-4o Mini (07-18) for Coding, RAG, and Agents.

Monthly cost at traffic

Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.

Lower estimate GPT-4o Mini (07-18)

Claude 3.5 Haiku

$1,640

Cheapest tracked route/tier: Anthropic

GPT-4o Mini (07-18)

$270

Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenAI API

Estimated monthly gap: $1,370. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.

Switch friction

Claude 3.5 Haiku -> GPT-4o Mini (07-18)
  • Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Replicate API; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • GPT-4o Mini (07-18) is $3.40/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
  • Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
GPT-4o Mini (07-18) -> Claude 3.5 Haiku
  • Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Replicate API; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • Claude 3.5 Haiku is $3.40/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
  • Claude 3.5 Haiku adds Reasoning in local capability data.

Specs

Specification
Released2024-10-222024-07-18
Context window200K128K
Parameters——
ArchitectureDecoder OnlyDecoder Only
LicenseProprietaryProprietary
OpennessProprietaryProprietary
WeightsNot releasedNot released
CodeUnknownUnknown
Commercial useRestrictedRestricted
Knowledge cutoff-2023-10

Pricing and availability

Pricing attributeClaude 3.5 HaikuGPT-4o Mini (07-18)
Input price$0.80/1M tokens$0.15/1M tokens
Output price$4/1M tokens$0.60/1M tokens
Providers

Capabilities

CapabilityClaude 3.5 HaikuGPT-4o Mini (07-18)
VisionYesYes
MultimodalNoNo
ReasoningYesNo
JSON / Tool useNoNo
Structured outputsYesYes
Code executionYesYes
IDE integrationNoNo
Computer useNoNo
Parallel agentsNoNo

Benchmarks

BenchmarkClaude 3.5 HaikuGPT-4o Mini (07-18)
LMArena Text Arena - Creative Writing1232.01268.0

Deep dive

On shared benchmark coverage, LMArena Text Arena - Creative Writing has Claude 3.5 Haiku at 1232 and GPT-4o Mini (07-18) at 1268, with GPT-4o Mini (07-18) ahead by 36 points. The largest visible gap is 36 points on LMArena Text Arena - Creative Writing, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.

The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: Claude 3.5 Haiku. Both models share vision, structured outputs, and code execution, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.

For cost, Claude 3.5 Haiku lists $0.80/1M input and $4/1M output tokens on the cheapest listed provider, while GPT-4o Mini (07-18) lists $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens on the cheapest listed provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts GPT-4o Mini (07-18) lower by about $1.47 per million blended tokens. Availability is 6 providers versus 3, so concentration risk also matters.

Choose Claude 3.5 Haiku when coding workflow support, larger context windows, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose GPT-4o Mini (07-18) when coding workflow support and lower input-token cost are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.

FAQ

Which has a larger context window, Claude 3.5 Haiku or GPT-4o Mini (07-18)?

Claude 3.5 Haiku supports 200K tokens, while GPT-4o Mini (07-18) supports 128K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.

Which is cheaper, Claude 3.5 Haiku or GPT-4o Mini (07-18)?

GPT-4o Mini (07-18) is cheaper on listed token pricing. Claude 3.5 Haiku costs $0.80/1M input and $4/1M output tokens. GPT-4o Mini (07-18) costs $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.

Is Claude 3.5 Haiku or GPT-4o Mini (07-18) open source?

Claude 3.5 Haiku is listed under Proprietary. GPT-4o Mini (07-18) is listed under Proprietary. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.

Which is better for vision, Claude 3.5 Haiku or GPT-4o Mini (07-18)?

Both Claude 3.5 Haiku and GPT-4o Mini (07-18) expose vision. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.

Which is better for reasoning mode, Claude 3.5 Haiku or GPT-4o Mini (07-18)?

Claude 3.5 Haiku has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.

Where can I run Claude 3.5 Haiku and GPT-4o Mini (07-18)?

Claude 3.5 Haiku is available on Anthropic, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, GCP Vertex AI, and Replicate API. GPT-4o Mini (07-18) is available on OpenAI API, OpenRouter, and Replicate API. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.

Continue comparing

Last reviewed: 2026-10-17. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.