Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.5 Pro
Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5 Pro are both current production-tier models. Claude Opus 4.8 is meaningfully cheaper at $5 / $25 per 1M. Claude Opus 4.8 has a 1M context window — about 3× the 400k of GPT-5.5 Pro.
Specs side by side
| Metric | Anthropic Claude Opus 4.8 | OpenAI GPT-5.5 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Input price (per 1M) | $5 | $30 |
| Output price (per 1M) | $25 | $180 |
| Context window | 1M tokens | 400k tokens |
| Speed tier | slow | slow |
| Open weights | No | No |
| EU region | Yes | No |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Prompt caching | Yes | Yes |
| Vision input | Yes | Yes |
| Extended thinking | Yes | Yes |
When to choose each
Choose Claude Opus 4.8 if…
- Cost is a priority ($5 / $25 per 1M vs $30 / $180 per 1M)
- You need 1M context (3× more than GPT-5.5 Pro)
- EU data residency is required
Choose GPT-5.5 Pro if…
- GPT-5.5 Pro is in the same tier as Claude Opus 4.8 — pick by provider preference or API ecosystem
Benchmark delta
Claude Opus 4.8 leads on
Claude Opus 4.8 has no meaningful benchmark lead in this pair.
GPT-5.5 Pro leads on
GPT-5.5 Pro has no meaningful benchmark lead in this pair.
FAQ — Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.5 Pro
Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.5 Pro — which is better?
Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5 Pro are both current production-tier models. Claude Opus 4.8 is meaningfully cheaper at $5 / $25 per 1M. Claude Opus 4.8 has a 1M context window — about 3× the 400k of GPT-5.5 Pro. The right pick depends on your use case — see "When to choose each" above for a data-driven decision.
How does Claude Opus 4.8 pricing compare to GPT-5.5 Pro?
Claude Opus 4.8 costs $5 / $25 per 1M vs GPT-5.5 Pro at $30 / $180 per 1M. Claude Opus 4.8 is cheaper on output tokens by roughly 620%. Both support prompt caching, which reduces effective cost by 80-90% on repeat system prompts.
Does Claude Opus 4.8 or GPT-5.5 Pro have the bigger context window?
Claude Opus 4.8 has a 1M-token context window — 3× the 400k context of GPT-5.5 Pro. Enough for entire codebases, books, or multi-document RAG.
Is there a free tier for Claude Opus 4.8 or GPT-5.5 Pro?
Claude Opus 4.8: no — Free via Claude.ai web chat; API requires paid credits. GPT-5.5 Pro: no — Paid-only — no free tier.
Which is better for coding — Claude Opus 4.8 or GPT-5.5 Pro?
Claude Opus 4.8 leads on coding benchmarks (Claude Opus 4.8: 97/100, GPT-5.5 Pro: 96/100). For production coding agents also weigh tool-use performance — Claude Opus 4.8 scores 96, GPT-5.5 Pro scores 94.