GPT-5.4 vs Claude 4 Opus for Research
Compare GPT-5.4 by OpenAI and Claude 4 Opus by Anthropic for research tasks - pricing, context windows, and strengths, and see how to put either to work in Appaca.
GPT-5.4
OpenAI's frontier model for complex professional work with best intelligence at scale for agentic, coding, and professional workflows.
View GPT-5.4Claude 4 Opus
The flagship model, focused on deep reasoning, large-scale coding and sustained multi-step agentic workflows.
View Claude 4 OpusGPT-5.4 vs Claude 4 Opus at a glance
Specs and pricing side by side, from the Appaca AI models directory.
| Spec | GPT-5.4 | Claude 4 Opus |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | Anthropic |
| Model type | Text | Text |
| Context window | 1.05M tokens | 200K tokens |
| Input price | $2.5 / 1M tokens | $15 / 1M tokens |
| Output price | $15 / 1M tokens | $75 / 1M tokens |
| Status | Current | Superseded by Claude 4.1 Opus |
What matters for Research
Evaluation criteria and how GPT-5.4 and Claude 4 Opus compare on what research tasks actually require.
Depth and accuracy of scientific reasoning
Ability to synthesise multi-document context
Citation awareness and factual grounding
Structured output for reports and papers
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GPT-5.4 is 83% cheaper on input tokens ($2.5 vs $15 per million), which adds up quickly on high-volume research workloads.
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GPT-5.4 is 80% cheaper on output tokens ($15 vs $75 per million) - the bigger factor for research tasks that generate long responses.
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GPT-5.4's 1.05M tokens context window is roughly 5.3x larger than Claude 4 Opus's 200K tokens, so it can handle bigger inputs in a single research pass.
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Claude 4 Opus has been superseded by Claude 4.1 Opus - for new research builds, consider the newer model first.
Strengths side by side
Where each model shines, according to benchmarks and provider positioning.
GPT-5.4
1. Best Intelligence at Scale
- OpenAI positions GPT-5.4 as its frontier model for agentic, coding, and professional workflows.
- Built for complex professional work where stronger reasoning and higher answer quality matter.
2. Configurable Reasoning + Multimodal Input
- Supports configurable reasoning effort from none to xhigh, letting teams balance speed and depth.
- Accepts both text and image inputs while producing text output.
3. Massive Context for Long-Running Work
- 1.05M token context window supports very large codebases, documents, and multi-step workflows.
- Allows up to 128 k output tokens for long-form answers and larger generations.
4. Updated Knowledge & Broad Tool Support
- Knowledge cut-off of Aug 31 2025 keeps it current for newer frameworks and business context.
- Supports tools like web search, file search, code interpreter, hosted shell, computer use, and MCP in the Responses API.
Claude 4 Opus
- Highest capability in the family: described as “our most powerful model yet” by Anthropic.
- Exceptional at long-running tasks requiring thousands of steps and sustained focus (e.g., continuous codebase work for hours).
- Excellent performance on benchmarks: e.g., SWE-bench 72.5 % and Terminal-bench 43.2 %.
- Designed for complex agentic workflows, deep reasoning, tool use, and large context windows.
- Placed under a higher safety classification (ASL-3) due to its frontier capability and risk profile.
Use GPT-5.4 or Claude 4 Opus - or both
Appaca is the AI workspace for operators. Build internal research tools and AI co-workers powered by GPT-5.4 or Claude 4 Opus - connected to your real data and ready for your whole team. No code, no deployment.
Describe it, and it's built
Tell the Appaca agent the internal tool you need for research and it builds a working app powered by GPT-5.4 or Claude 4 Opus. No code, no API keys, no deployment.
Switch models without rebuilding
Start on GPT-5.4, test the same tool on Claude 4 Opus, and keep whichever performs better for your research workflow - the rest of your app stays exactly as it is.
Automated for the whole team
Schedule tools to run on autopilot - daily digests, weekly reports, real-time triggers - and share them with your whole team from one workspace.
Describe it, and it's built
Tell the Appaca agent what your team needs for research and it builds a working app powered by GPT-5.4 or Claude 4 Opus - connected to the tools you already use.
Keep comparing for Research
More side-by-side model comparisons for research tasks.
FAQs
GPT-5.5 and Claude 4 Opus are the top research LLMs in 2026. GPT-5.5 produces well-structured research memos, literature summaries, and synthesis documents. Claude 4 Opus is preferred for tasks requiring careful reasoning about nuanced or contradictory evidence - it is more likely to flag uncertainty than state incorrect conclusions confidently. Gemini 2.5 Pro handles the longest source documents thanks to its 1M token context.
GPT-5.4 is generally cheaper: $2.5 input / $15 output per million tokens, versus $15 / $75 for Claude 4 Opus. Actual cost depends on how many tokens your research workload reads and writes.
GPT-5.4 has the larger context window at 1.05M tokens, compared to 200K tokens for Claude 4 Opus. For research tasks, a larger window means the model can consider more context at once without losing track.
Yes. Appaca is a no-code AI workspace: describe the internal tool your team needs for research and the Appaca agent builds it as a working app powered by GPT-5.4, Claude 4 Opus, or any other model in the directory - with a built-in database, team access, and integrations. No API keys to wire up and nothing to deploy.
Build Research tools with GPT-5.4 or Claude 4 Opus
Describe the research tool your team needs and get a working app powered by the model you choose - with a built-in database, team access, and integrations. No code, no deployment.