Claude vs GPT: The Big Question

Two companies dominate AI: Anthropic (Claude) and OpenAI (GPT). Here’s the definitive comparison.

Quick Answer

• For coding: Claude 4
• For agents: GPT-5
• For writing: GPT-5
• For reasoning: Tie
• For value: GPT-5

Detailed Comparison

Coding

Claude 4: Produces cleaner, more maintainable code. Better at understanding existing codebases. Superior debugging.

GPT-5: Slightly less polished but faster. Better for quick prototypes.

Winner: Claude 4

Reasoning

Claude 4: Excellent step-by-step reasoning. Good at math and logic.

GPT-5: Strong reasoning with good chain-of-thought. Slightly better at complex multi-step problems.

Winner: Tie

Writing

Claude 4: Good but sometimes overly cautious.

GPT-5: More engaging, natural writing style. Better for content creation.

Winner: GPT-5

Agents

Claude 4: Good tool use but slower.

GPT-5: Best-in-class for autonomous agents. Fast, great function calling.

Winner: GPT-5

Cost

Model	Input	Output
Claude 4	$15.00	$75.00
GPT-5	$15.00	$60.00

GPT-5 is 20% cheaper on output.

Final Verdict

Use Claude 4 for code quality. Use GPT-5 for everything else.