GPT-4o (05-13) vs ShieldGemma 9B
GPT-4o (05-13) (2024) and ShieldGemma 9B (2024) are compact production models from OpenAI and Google DeepMind. GPT-4o (05-13) ships a 128K-token context window, while ShieldGemma 9B ships a 8K-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing. The goal is to make the tradeoff clear before deeper testing.
GPT-4o (05-13) fits 16x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and ShieldGemma 9B for tighter calls.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-05-13 | 2024-07-01 |
| Context window | 128K | 8K |
| Parameters | 1.76T (8x222B MoE)* | 9B |
| Architecture | mixture of experts | decoder only |
| License | Proprietary | 1 |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-10 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | GPT-4o (05-13) | ShieldGemma 9B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $2.5/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $10/1M tokens | - |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | GPT-4o (05-13) | ShieldGemma 9B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: GPT-4o (05-13), multimodal input: GPT-4o (05-13), structured outputs: GPT-4o (05-13), and code execution: GPT-4o (05-13). Both models share the core language-model surface, 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.
Pricing coverage is uneven: GPT-4o (05-13) has $2.5/1M input tokens and ShieldGemma 9B has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 4 tracked routes versus 1. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose GPT-4o (05-13) when coding workflow support, larger context windows, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose ShieldGemma 9B 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, GPT-4o (05-13) or ShieldGemma 9B?
GPT-4o (05-13) supports 128K tokens, while ShieldGemma 9B supports 8K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Is GPT-4o (05-13) or ShieldGemma 9B open source?
GPT-4o (05-13) is listed under Proprietary. ShieldGemma 9B is listed under 1. 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, GPT-4o (05-13) or ShieldGemma 9B?
GPT-4o (05-13) 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. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is better for multimodal input, GPT-4o (05-13) or ShieldGemma 9B?
GPT-4o (05-13) has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for structured outputs, GPT-4o (05-13) or ShieldGemma 9B?
GPT-4o (05-13) has the clearer documented structured outputs signal in this comparison. If structured outputs is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run GPT-4o (05-13) and ShieldGemma 9B?
GPT-4o (05-13) is available on Azure OpenAI, OpenAI API, OpenRouter, and Replicate API. ShieldGemma 9B is available on NVIDIA NIM. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-11. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.