Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-6.1 Terra
Anthropic · US | OpenAI · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Claude Opus 4.8 for agentic coding and multi-file debugging or long autonomous tasks. Pick GPT-6.1 Terra for $1/$5 per million tokens (cached input $0.05) - half the price of gpt-6.1 sol and gpt-5.6 terra or terminal-bench 4.0 of 50.3% at maximum reasoning effort, versus 21.5% for gpt-5.6 terra (openai-reported). On a tight budget at scale, GPT-6.1 Terra is the value pick.
Claude Opus 4.8 (Anthropic) and GPT-6.1 Terra (OpenAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Claude Opus 4.8 is the agentic-coding and judgment leader — highest SWE-Bench Pro score ever recorded at launch. GPT-6.1 Terra is openAI's October 26, 2026 mid-tier model - a 1.05M-context, computer-use-capable GPT at $1/$5 per million tokens, half the price of its predecessor. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: GPT-6.1 Terra is about 5× cheaper on input ($1/$5 per 1M tokens vs $5/$25 per 1M tokens) — a large enough gap that at scale it can be the single biggest line item in the decision.
- ▸Context window: 1M vs 1.05M tokens — within a few percent of each other, so treat this as a tie and test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
- ▸Recency: GPT-6.1 Terra is the newer model by about 5 months (released October 26, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Claude Opus 4.8 | GPT-6.1 Terra |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic (US) | OpenAI (US) |
| Released | May 28, 2026 | October 26, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M (~1,500 pages) | 1.05M tokens (~1,575 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $5/$25 per 1M tokens | $1/$5 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, image, code | text, image, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | 88.6% | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Agentic coding and multi-file debugging
Claude Opus 4.8
GPT-6.1 Terra is comparatively weak here — openAI still positions Sol and Astra as the higher-capability choices for demanding coding problems
Long autonomous tasks
Claude Opus 4.8
Claude Opus 4.8 lists long autonomous tasks among its strengths; GPT-6.1 Terra does not.
Honest uncertainty flagging
Claude Opus 4.8
Claude Opus 4.8 lists honest uncertainty flagging among its strengths; GPT-6.1 Terra does not.
$1/$5 per million tokens (cached input $0.05) - half the price of GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-5.6 Terra
GPT-6.1 Terra
At $1/$5 per 1M tokens it undercuts Claude Opus 4.8 ($5/$25 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Terminal-Bench 4.0 of 50.3% at maximum reasoning effort, versus 21.5% for GPT-5.6 Terra (OpenAI-reported)
GPT-6.1 Terra
OpenAI's October 26, 2026 mid-tier model - a 1.05M-context, computer-use-capable GPT at $1/$5 per million tokens, half the price of its predecessor — and it runs cheaper at $1/$5 per 1M tokens.
1.05M-token context with up to 128K output tokens, plus image input and computer use via the Responses API
GPT-6.1 Terra
Claude Opus 4.8 is comparatively weak here — highest per-token price of the frontier tier
Lowest cost at scale
GPT-6.1 Terra
At $1/$5 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ GPT-6.1 Terra
At $1/$5 per 1M tokens it undercuts Claude Opus 4.8, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ GPT-6.1 Terra
Larger 1.05M tokens window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is agentic coding and multi-file debugging
→ Claude Opus 4.8
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is $1/$5 per million tokens (cached input $0.05) - half the price of gpt-6.1 sol and gpt-5.6 terra
→ GPT-6.1 Terra
That is its strongest area.
Claude Opus 4.8: where it fits
The agentic-coding and judgment leader — highest SWE-Bench Pro score ever recorded at launch. Released May 28, 2026 by Anthropic, it is built for agentic coding and multi-file debugging, long autonomous tasks, honest uncertainty flagging, and professional writing and reasoning.
Its trade-offs are real: highest per-token price of the frontier tier, and not the cheapest for high-volume work. At $5 in / $25 out per million tokens, it sits in the premium price band.
GPT-6.1 Terra: where it fits
OpenAI's October 26, 2026 mid-tier model - a 1.05M-context, computer-use-capable GPT at $1/$5 per million tokens, half the price of its predecessor. Released October 26, 2026 by OpenAI, it is built for $1/$5 per million tokens (cached input $0.05) - half the price of GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-5.6 Terra, terminal-Bench 4.0 of 50.3% at maximum reasoning effort, versus 21.5% for GPT-5.6 Terra (OpenAI-reported), 1.05M-token context with up to 128K output tokens, plus image input and computer use via the Responses API, and error rate on OpenAI's hard-prompt set falls from 53.6% (GPT-5.6 Terra) to 16.7% at low effort and 4.3% at max effort.
Its trade-offs: openAI still positions Sol and Astra as the higher-capability choices for demanding coding problems, requests above 272K input tokens are billed at 2x input and 1.5x output for the whole request, closed weights and no fine-tuning support, and benchmark figures are vendor-reported; no SWE-bench Verified or MRCR numbers published. At $1 in / $5 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-6.1 Terra overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. GPT-6.1 Terra costs less per token; GPT-6.1 Terra holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Claude Opus 4.8 for agentic coding and multi-file debugging, GPT-6.1 Terra for $1/$5 per million tokens (cached input $0.05) - half the price of gpt-6.1 sol and gpt-5.6 terra. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-6.1 Terra without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is Claude Opus 4.8 or GPT-6.1 Terra better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for GPT-6.1 Terra, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Claude Opus 4.8 leans toward agentic coding and multi-file debugging while GPT-6.1 Terra leans toward $1/$5 per million tokens (cached input $0.05) - half the price of gpt-6.1 sol and gpt-5.6 terra, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 4.8 or GPT-6.1 Terra?
GPT-6.1 Terra is cheaper — $5/$25 per 1M tokens vs $1/$5 per 1M tokens, roughly 5× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Effectively neither — 1M vs 1.05M tokens is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-6.1 Terra together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Claude Opus 4.8, GPT-6.1 Terra and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Claude Opus 4.8 or GPT-6.1 Terra?
GPT-6.1 Terra — released October 26, 2026, about 5 months after Claude Opus 4.8.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.