Claude 3.5 Haiku vs GPT-4o Search Preview
Claude 3.5 Haiku (2024) and GPT-4o Search Preview (2025) are frontier reasoning models from Anthropic and OpenAI. Claude 3.5 Haiku ships a 200k-token context window, while GPT-4o Search Preview ships a 128k-token context window. On pricing, Claude 3.5 Haiku costs $0.80/1M input tokens versus $2.50/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Claude 3.5 Haiku is ~213% cheaper at $0.80/1M; pay for GPT-4o Search Preview only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude 3.5 Haiku | GPT-4o Search Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and provider-routed production | general production evaluation |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | RAG, Long context, and Classification |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $4/1M tokens | $10/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 6 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude 3.5 Haiku has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Claude 3.5 Haiku has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $4/1M tokens.
- Claude 3.5 Haiku has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Claude 3.5 Haiku uniquely exposes Vision, Reasoning, and Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Claude 3.5 Haiku for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Local decision data tags GPT-4o Search Preview for RAG, Long context, and Classification.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Claude 3.5 Haiku
$1,640
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Anthropic
GPT-4o Search Preview
$4,500
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $2,860. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- GPT-4o Search Preview is $6/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Reasoning, and Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Claude 3.5 Haiku is $6/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Claude 3.5 Haiku adds Vision, Reasoning, and Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-10-22 | 2025-02-26 |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Parameters | — | — |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Openness | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | 2023-10 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude 3.5 Haiku | GPT-4o Search Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.80/1M tokens | $2.50/1M tokens |
| Output price | $4/1M tokens | $10/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude 3.5 Haiku | GPT-4o Search Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Claude 3.5 Haiku, reasoning mode: Claude 3.5 Haiku, and code execution: Claude 3.5 Haiku. Both models share structured outputs, 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 tracked provider, while GPT-4o Search Preview lists $2.50/1M input and $10/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Claude 3.5 Haiku lower by about $2.99 per million blended tokens. Availability is 6 providers versus 1, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Claude 3.5 Haiku when coding workflow support, larger context windows, and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose GPT-4o Search Preview when provider fit are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Claude 3.5 Haiku or GPT-4o Search Preview?
Claude 3.5 Haiku supports 200k tokens, while GPT-4o Search Preview 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 Search Preview?
Claude 3.5 Haiku is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Claude 3.5 Haiku costs $0.80/1M input and $4/1M output tokens. GPT-4o Search Preview costs $2.50/1M input and $10/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Claude 3.5 Haiku or GPT-4o Search Preview open source?
Claude 3.5 Haiku is listed under Proprietary. GPT-4o Search Preview 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 Search Preview?
Claude 3.5 Haiku has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for reasoning mode, Claude 3.5 Haiku or GPT-4o Search Preview?
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 Search Preview?
Claude 3.5 Haiku is available on Anthropic, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, GCP Vertex AI, and Replicate API. GPT-4o Search Preview is available on OpenRouter. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-06-15. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.