# GPT-4.1 vs GPT-4o

GPT-4.1 is the cheaper of the 2: for the same tokens, 3 read for each 1 written, GPT-4o costs 1.3 times as much. Below are both price lists, what 8 everyday jobs cost a month on each, and how many tokens the same text takes on each, which can change the answer.

- Page, with a calculator for your own job: https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-4-1-vs-gpt-4o
- Makers: GPT-4.1 from OpenAI, GPT-4o from OpenAI

## Price per million tokens, in US dollars

| | GPT-4.1 | GPT-4o |
| --- | --: | --: |
| Input | $2 | $2.50 |
| Cached input | $0.50 | $1.25 |
| Cache write | not listed | not listed |
| Output | $8 | $10 |
| Blend, 3 read for each 1 written | $3.50 | $4.375 |
| Batch input | $1 | $1.25 |
| Batch output | $4 | $5 |
| Context window, tokens | 1.05M | 128K |
| Capability score (Epoch Capabilities Index; GPT-5 is 150) | 137 | not listed |
| Longest answer, tokens | 33K | 16K |

## What 8 everyday jobs cost a month on each

Each job at its usual runs a day, for 30 days, at the standard price.

| Job | Tokens in, out, runs a day | GPT-4.1 | GPT-4o |
| --- | --- | --: | --: |
| A chat question | 300, 500, 100 | $13.80 | $17.25 |
| A hard question, with thinking | 300, 1,400, 100 | $35.40 | $44.25 |
| A long report, summarised | 60,000, 2,000, 20 | $81.60 | $102 |
| A 40-turn agent task | 2,800,000, 40,000, 10 | $642 | too long for its window |
| A support bot's reply | 4,000, 300, 2,000 | $444 | $630 |
| Sort a message into a category | 250, 5, 50,000 | $810 | $1,013 |
| Read an invoice into fields | 1,500, 250, 1,000 | $150 | $188 |
| Review a pull request | 25,000, 4,500, 50 | $129 | $161 |

## Questions

### Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 or GPT-4o?

GPT-4.1 is cheaper: $2 per million tokens read and $8 per million written, against $2.50 and $10 on GPT-4o. On a mix of 3 tokens read for each 1 written, GPT-4o costs 1.3 times as much.

### Which is better, GPT-4.1 or GPT-4o?

GPT-4.1 scores 137 on the Epoch Capabilities Index, an independent score from Epoch AI that combines over 50 benchmarks (GPT-5 is 150). GPT-4o has no independent score yet, so the only fair test is to run the same 10 tasks on both.

### What does a support bot cost a month on GPT-4.1 and GPT-4o?

At 2,000 replies a day, each reading 4,000 tokens (50 percent of them from cache) and writing 300, it costs $444 a month on GPT-4.1 and $630 on GPT-4o: GPT-4o costs 1.4 times as much for this job.

### Which has the larger context window, GPT-4.1 or GPT-4o?

GPT-4.1, with 1.05M tokens against 128K on GPT-4o. The window holds your instructions, the files you attach, the conversation so far and the answer, all at once.

### Does the same text take the same number of tokens on GPT-4.1 and GPT-4o?

Yes, both are counted the same way: our lesson "How AI writes", 1,700 words long, is about 2,100 tokens on each.

### Can I pay less on GPT-4.1 and GPT-4o for work that can wait?

Yes, on both. With a batch, where you collect the answers later instead of at once, GPT-4.1 costs $1 per million tokens read and $4 written, and GPT-4o $1.25 and $5.

## Sources

- [OpenAI: API prices](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing)
- [Epoch Capabilities Index, by Epoch AI (CC BY 4.0)](https://epoch.ai/benchmarks/eci)

## Other comparisons

- [GPT-4.1 vs GPT-6 Astra](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-4-1-vs-gpt-6-astra.md)
- [GPT-4.1 vs GPT-6.1 Sol](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-4-1-vs-gpt-6-1-sol.md)
- [GPT-4.1 vs GPT-6 Luna](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-4-1-vs-gpt-6-luna.md)
- [GPT-4o vs GPT-6 Astra](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-4o-vs-gpt-6-astra.md)
- [GPT-4o vs GPT-6.1 Sol](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-4o-vs-gpt-6-1-sol.md)
- [GPT-4o vs GPT-6 Luna](https://tecyfy.com/prices/compare/gpt-4o-vs-gpt-6-luna.md)