GPT-4o and Gemini 3.1 Pro serve different strengths at different prices. GPT-4o excels at multimodal tasks — image understanding, DALL-E integration, and voice — and remains a reliable mid-tier pick. Gemini 3.1 Pro undercuts it significantly on price ($2 vs $5/1M input), offers a 2M token context window (16× larger), and leads reasoning benchmarks like ARC-AGI-2. For research, large-document analysis, and cost-sensitive workloads, Gemini 3.1 Pro is the stronger pick. For multimodal and OpenAI ecosystem fit, GPT-4o still earns its place.
OpenAIBalanced
GPT-4o
Best all-around pick for image-heavy and multimodal workflows.
VS
GooglePremium
Gemini 3.1 Pro
Best for research and deep document analysis — 2M context at the best premium price.
Winner
At a glance
GPT-4o
Gemini 3.1 Pro
Input cost / 1M tokens
$$2.50/1M
$$2.00/1M
Output cost / 1M tokens
$$10.00/1M
$$12.00/1M
Context window
128k tokens
2M tokens
Speed
Fast
Balanced
Price tier
Balanced
Premium
Benchmarks
SWE-bench (coding)
46%
80.6%
Arena Elo
1,295
1,380
MMLU
88.7%
90%
How they compare
Which model wins for each use case — and why.
Research & Long ContextGemini 3.1 Pro wins
Gemini 3.1 Pro has a 2M token context window vs GPT-4o's 128K — a 16× advantage. For document analysis and research synthesis, this gap is decisive.
PriceGemini 3.1 Pro wins
Gemini 3.1 Pro costs $2/1M input vs GPT-4o's $5/1M — 2.5× cheaper. At scale, this is a very significant saving.
Vision / ImagesGPT-4o wins
GPT-4o has native DALL-E image generation alongside strong vision understanding. Gemini has multimodal support but no equivalent image generation at this tier.
ReasoningGemini 3.1 Pro wins
Gemini 3.1 Pro leads the ARC-AGI-2 reasoning benchmark at 77.1%. GPT-4o is a capable reasoner but trails on the hardest logic tasks.
Ecosystem / IntegrationsGPT-4o wins
GPT-4o benefits from OpenAI's mature API ecosystem, plugin network, and broad third-party integrations. Google is catching up but OpenAI still has the edge here.
Which should you pick?
Pick GPT-4o if…
You need image generation (DALL-E) alongside text in the same platform
Your workflow relies on OpenAI-specific API features, plugins, or assistants
Multimodal tasks combining images, audio, and text are central to your use case
You're already invested in the OpenAI ecosystem and switching cost matters
For most workflows, Gemini 3.1 Pro is the stronger choice.
The best research and long-context model available. Handles entire codebases, legal documents, and large datasets in a single pass — at a lower price than GPT-5.4 or Claude Sonnet 4.6.
The case for each model
What each one is genuinely good at, where it falls down, and when we would steer you away from it.
Our overall pick in this comparison. Against GPT-4o it costs about 11% more per token and takes 16x the context.
Google's flagship with the largest context window of any frontier model at 2M tokens, Deep Think reasoning, and the best price-to-performance among premium models.
Input
$2.00/1M
Output
$12.00/1M
Context
2M tokens
Speed
Balanced
What people actually use it for
Analyzing entire contracts, codebases, or research corpora in a single 2M-token prompt
Due diligence synthesis across large sets of financial documents or legal agreements
Multi-step reasoning across dense technical specifications with Deep Think mode
Where it wins
2M token context window — the largest of any frontier model
Leads ARC-AGI-2 reasoning benchmark at 77.1%
Best price-to-performance among premium models at $2/$12 per 1M tokens
Where it falls down
Slower than Flash for everyday lightweight tasks
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better for writing quality
Skip it if
Your primary use case is writing quality or agentic coding — Claude wins both.
Our verdict
The best research and long-context model available. Handles entire codebases, legal documents, and large datasets in a single pass — at a lower price than GPT-5.4 or Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Gemini 3.1 Pro wins on price, context window, and research depth. GPT-4o wins on multimodal/image generation and OpenAI ecosystem fit. For most analytical workloads, Gemini 3.1 Pro is the stronger value.
Which is cheaper — GPT-4o or Gemini?
Gemini 3.1 Pro is significantly cheaper at $2/1M input vs GPT-4o's $5/1M — 2.5× less expensive. Output is also cheaper at $12/1M vs $15/1M.
Which has a bigger context window?
Gemini 3.1 Pro has a 2M token context window — 16 times larger than GPT-4o's 128K. For large document analysis, this advantage is decisive.
Which is better for coding?
Neither is the top coding pick in 2026 — Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads there. Between the two, GPT-4o is the more familiar coding tool, but Gemini 3.1 Pro handles code competently at a lower price.