Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs GPT-4 Vision Preview
Claude Sonnet 4.5 (2025) and GPT-4 Vision Preview (2023) are frontier reasoning models from Anthropic and OpenAI. Claude Sonnet 4.5 ships a 200k-token context window, while GPT-4 Vision Preview ships a 128k-token context window. On Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding, Claude Sonnet 4.5 leads by 21.8 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Claude Sonnet 4.5 is safer overall; choose GPT-4 Vision Preview when coding workflow support matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | GPT-4 Vision Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents | multimodal apps |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, Agents, and Long context |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $15/1M tokens | $40/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 8 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding leader | 1 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude Sonnet 4.5 holds a shared-benchmark lead on Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding, ahead by 21.8 points.
- Claude Sonnet 4.5 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Claude Sonnet 4.5 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $15/1M tokens.
- Claude Sonnet 4.5 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Claude Sonnet 4.5 uniquely exposes Reasoning, Function calling, and Tool use in local model data.
- GPT-4 Vision Preview uniquely exposes Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags GPT-4 Vision Preview for Coding, Agents, and Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Claude Sonnet 4.5
$6,150
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Microsoft Foundry
GPT-4 Vision Preview
$18,000
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Azure OpenAI
Estimated monthly gap: $11,850. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-4 Vision Preview; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- GPT-4 Vision Preview is $25/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning, Function calling, and Tool use before moving production traffic.
- GPT-4 Vision Preview adds Code execution in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for GPT-4 Vision Preview and Claude Sonnet 4.5; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Claude Sonnet 4.5 is $25/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Claude Sonnet 4.5 adds Reasoning, Function calling, and Tool use in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-09-29 | 2023-11-06 |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Parameters | — | 1.76T (8x222B MoE)* |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Mixture of Experts |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Openness | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-12 | 2023-04 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | GPT-4 Vision Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Input price |
| $10/1M tokens |
| Output price |
| $40/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | GPT-4 Vision Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Function calling | Yes | No |
| Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | No | Yes |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | GPT-4 Vision Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding | 77.8 | 56.0 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding has Claude Sonnet 4.5 at 77.8 and GPT-4 Vision Preview at 56, with Claude Sonnet 4.5 ahead by 21.8 points. The largest visible gap is 21.8 points on Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding, 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 Sonnet 4.5, function calling: Claude Sonnet 4.5, tool use: Claude Sonnet 4.5, structured outputs: Claude Sonnet 4.5, and code execution: GPT-4 Vision Preview. Both models share vision and multimodal input, 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 Sonnet 4.5 lists tiered pricing: 0-200,001t is $3/1M input and $15/1M output; 200,001t+ is $6/1M input and $22.50/1M output, while GPT-4 Vision Preview lists $10/1M input and $40/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Claude Sonnet 4.5 lower by about $12.40 per million blended tokens. For tiered rows, this cheapest-track view can understate interactive or fast-lane spend, so compare the tier you will actually use. Availability is 8 providers versus 1, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.5 when reasoning depth, larger context windows, and lower cheapest-tier input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose GPT-4 Vision Preview when coding workflow support 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 Sonnet 4.5 or GPT-4 Vision Preview?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 supports 200k tokens, while GPT-4 Vision 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 Sonnet 4.5 or GPT-4 Vision Preview?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 lists tiered pricing: 0-200,001t is $3/1M input and $15/1M output; 200,001t+ is $6/1M input and $22.50/1M output. GPT-4 Vision Preview lists $10/1M input and $40/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. Compare the tier you will actually use; cheap async pricing can overstate savings for interactive workflows. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Claude Sonnet 4.5 or GPT-4 Vision Preview open source?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 is listed under Proprietary. GPT-4 Vision 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 Sonnet 4.5 or GPT-4 Vision Preview?
Both Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-4 Vision Preview 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 multimodal input, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or GPT-4 Vision Preview?
Both Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-4 Vision Preview expose multimodal input. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Where can I run Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-4 Vision Preview?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 is available on Microsoft Foundry, Anthropic, Snowflake Cortex, GCP Vertex AI, and AWS Bedrock. GPT-4 Vision Preview is available on Azure OpenAI. 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.