Head-to-head · Updated
Data verifiedClaude Opus 4.8 is the stronger coding model by every public benchmark: 69.2% SWE-Bench Pro vs GPT-5.5's 58.6%, and 1890 Arena Elo vs 1769 — a 67% head-to-head win rate. Pricing is tied at $5/$25 per 1M tokens. GPT-5.5 is the better pick when your stack is already OpenAI-native (Codex, computer-use, OpenAI APIs). For new integrations focused on coding quality, Opus 4.8 is the clear choice.
Claude Opus 4.8
New #1 on SWE-Bench Pro — parallel subagents, same price as Opus 4.7.
WinnerGPT-5.5
Best OpenAI flagship for agentic coding, research, and computer-use work.
| Claude Opus 4.8 | GPT-5.5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Input cost / 1M tokens | $$5.00/1M | $$30.00/1M |
| Output cost / 1M tokens | $$25.00/1M | $$180.00/1M |
| Context window | 1M tokens | 1M tokens |
| Speed | Deliberate | Balanced |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Benchmarks | ||
| SWE-bench (coding) | 88.6% | — |
| Arena Elo | 1,890 | — |
| MMLU | 93% | — |
Which model wins for each use case — and why.
Claude Opus 4.8 scores 69.2% on SWE-Bench Pro vs GPT-5.5's 58.6% — a 10.6-point lead, the largest gap between any two frontier coding models right now.
Opus 4.8 introduces native parallel subagents, letting it spawn, coordinate, and merge multi-agent task results in a single orchestrated call.
GPT-5.5 is the right call when you need Codex, ChatGPT, OpenAI APIs, or computer-use workflows built on OpenAI tooling.
Both models are priced at $5/1M input and $25/1M output — no cost advantage either way.
Both support a 1M token API context window.
Claude Opus 4.8 scores 1890 on GDPval-AA vs GPT-5.5 at 1769 — implying about a 67% head-to-head win rate in human preference.
Pick Claude Opus 4.8 if…
Pick GPT-5.5 if…
Bottom line
For most workflows, Claude Opus 4.8 is the stronger choice.
The strongest public coding model by every major benchmark right now. 69.2% SWE-Bench Pro, 1890 Elo, and built-in parallel subagents — at the same price as Opus 4.7. If you're already paying for Opus, switch today.
Is Claude Opus 4.8 or GPT-5.5 better for coding?
Claude Opus 4.8 is better by public benchmarks: 69.2% SWE-Bench Pro vs GPT-5.5's 58.6%. That is a 10+ point gap — the largest difference between any two frontier coding models currently available.
Is Claude Opus 4.8 more expensive than GPT-5.5?
No. Both are priced at $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens. There is no price difference between them.
What are Claude Opus 4.8's parallel subagents?
Opus 4.8 can spin up multiple subagents inside a single API call. An orchestrator breaks a task into parts, each subagent solves its portion independently, and the orchestrator merges results. This removes the need to build your own multi-agent loop.
When should I choose GPT-5.5 instead of Opus 4.8?
Choose GPT-5.5 when your stack is already OpenAI-native: Codex integrations, ChatGPT rollout, OpenAI function-calling agents, or computer-use workflows that depend on OpenAI's tooling.
How does Claude Opus 4.8 compare to Opus 4.7?
Opus 4.8 improves SWE-Bench Pro from 64.3% to 69.2%, adds parallel subagents, and improves Arena Elo by roughly 90 points — all at the same $5/$25 price. It is a straightforward upgrade for new deployments.
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