GPT-3.5-turbo vs GPT-4
GPT-3.5-turbo comes out ahead, 28 to 8 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
OpenAIGPT-3.5-turbo
28/100- ECI—
- Price$0.50 / $1.50
- Context16K
- OpenAI
GPT-4
8/100- ECI—
- Price$30.00 / $60.00
- Context8K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
GPT-3.5-turbo is our pick
GPT-3.5-turbo is the better all-round choice, scoring 28/100 against GPT-4 (8). It leads on price. GPT-4 wins on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceGPT-3.5-turboGPT-3.5-turbo $0.75 · GPT-4 $37.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGPT-3.5-turboGPT-3.5-turbo 16,385 · GPT-4 8,192 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsGPT-3.5-turbo: Text · GPT-4: Text
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | GPT-3.5-turbo | GPT-4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 56 | 0 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 0 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 0 | 0 |
| Overall | 100% | 28/100 | 8/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | GPT-3.5-turboOpenAI | GPT-4OpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.50 (best) | $30.00 |
| Output | $1.50 (best) | $60.00 |
| Cached input | Free | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.75 (best) | $37.50 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official OpenAI API | Official OpenAI API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 16,385 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens |
| Max output | 4,096 tokens | 8,192 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | No | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | gpt-3.5-turbo | gpt-4 |
| API providers | 11 (best) | 8 |
| Released | Mar 1, 2023 | Nov 6, 2023 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Sep 1, 2021 | Nov 2023 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- GPT-3.5-turbo$8.00
- GPT-4$420.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: GPT-3.5-turbo or GPT-4?
GPT-3.5-turbo is the better all-round choice, scoring 28/100 against GPT-4 (8). It leads on price. GPT-4 wins on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, GPT-3.5-turbo or GPT-4?
GPT-3.5-turbo is cheaper at $0.50 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). GPT-4 costs $30.00 input / $60.00 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.75 per million tokens for GPT-3.5-turbo versus $37.50 for GPT-4 (50× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. GPT-3.5-turbo has not been scored yet and GPT-4 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-3.5-turbo and GPT-4 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that GPT-3.5-turbo does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
GPT-3.5-turbo has the largest context window at 16,385 tokens, against 8,192 for GPT-4. Maximum output per response: GPT-3.5-turbo up to 4,096, GPT-4 up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
GPT-3.5-turbo accepts text; GPT-4 accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
No. GPT-3.5-turbo and GPT-4 are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
GPT-4 is the newest, released Nov 6, 2023. GPT-3.5-turbo came out Mar 1, 2023. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-3.5-turbo Sep 1, 2021, GPT-4 Nov 2023.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.
