gpt-oss-120b vs Llama 4 Maverick
OpenAI · US | Meta · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick gpt-oss-120b for self-hostable on a single 80gb h100 gpu via mxfp4 or configurable reasoning depth (low/medium/high). Pick Llama 4 Maverick for open weights, 1m context or strong image + text understanding.
gpt-oss-120b (OpenAI) and Llama 4 Maverick (Meta) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. gpt-oss-120b is openAI's open-weight 117B-parameter MoE reasoning model (5.1B active) that runs on a single 80GB GPU and approaches o4-mini on reasoning, coding, and tool use. Llama 4 Maverick is meta's open-weight 1M-context multimodal model for self-hosted deployments. Their biggest split is context window, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Context window: Llama 4 Maverick holds 7.6× more — 1M (~1,500 pages) vs 131K (~197 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
- ▸Recency: gpt-oss-120b is the newer model by about 4 months (released August 5, 2025), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | gpt-oss-120b | Llama 4 Maverick |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI (US) | Meta (US) |
| Released | August 5, 2025 | April 2025 |
| Context window | 131K (~197 pages) | 1M (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | Open weight (self-host / free) | Open weight (self-host / free) |
| Open weight? | Yes — self-hostable | Yes — self-hostable |
| Modalities | text, code | text, image, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | 62.4% | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Self-hostable on a single 80GB H100 GPU via MXFP4
gpt-oss-120b
OpenAI's open-weight 117B-parameter MoE reasoning model (5.1B active) that runs on a single 80GB GPU and approaches o4-mini on reasoning, coding, and tool use — and it is the newer of the two.
Configurable reasoning depth (low/medium/high)
gpt-oss-120b
Llama 4 Maverick is comparatively weak here — trails closed frontier on reasoning
Agentic tool use, function calling, and code execution
gpt-oss-120b
gpt-oss-120b lists agentic tool use, function calling, and code execution among its strengths; Llama 4 Maverick does not.
Open weights, 1M context
Llama 4 Maverick
Its 1M window holds about 7.6× more than gpt-oss-120b's 131K in a single prompt.
Strong image + text understanding
Llama 4 Maverick
gpt-oss-120b is comparatively weak here — text-only, no image, audio, or video input
Self-hostable
Llama 4 Maverick
Meta's open-weight 1M-context multimodal model for self-hosted deployments — and it carries the larger 1M context.
Largest single-prompt input
Llama 4 Maverick
Its 1M window is about 7.6× larger than gpt-oss-120b's 131K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Llama 4 Maverick
Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is self-hostable on a single 80gb h100 gpu via mxfp4
→ gpt-oss-120b
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is open weights, 1m context
→ Llama 4 Maverick
That is its strongest area.
gpt-oss-120b: where it fits
OpenAI's open-weight 117B-parameter MoE reasoning model (5.1B active) that runs on a single 80GB GPU and approaches o4-mini on reasoning, coding, and tool use. Released August 5, 2025 by OpenAI, it is built for self-hostable on a single 80GB H100 GPU via MXFP4, configurable reasoning depth (low/medium/high), agentic tool use, function calling, and code execution, and full chain-of-thought visibility for debugging.
Its trade-offs are real: text-only, no image, audio, or video input, and 131K context and 5.1B active params trail the largest frontier closed models. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
Llama 4 Maverick: where it fits
Meta's open-weight 1M-context multimodal model for self-hosted deployments. Released April 2025 by Meta, it is built for open weights, 1M context, strong image + text understanding, self-hostable, and 400B MoE, 17B active.
Its trade-offs: needs serious hardware to self-host, and trails closed frontier on reasoning. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
The bottom line for this matchup
gpt-oss-120b and Llama 4 Maverick overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Llama 4 Maverick holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — gpt-oss-120b for self-hostable on a single 80gb h100 gpu via mxfp4, Llama 4 Maverick for open weights, 1m context. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both gpt-oss-120b and Llama 4 Maverick 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 gpt-oss-120b or Llama 4 Maverick better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for Llama 4 Maverick, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, gpt-oss-120b leans toward self-hostable on a single 80gb h100 gpu via mxfp4 while Llama 4 Maverick leans toward open weights, 1m context, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, gpt-oss-120b or Llama 4 Maverick?
They are priced almost identically, so cost will not decide between them.
Which has the bigger context window?
Llama 4 Maverick — 1M vs 131K, about 7.6× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both gpt-oss-120b and Llama 4 Maverick together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you gpt-oss-120b, Llama 4 Maverick 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, gpt-oss-120b or Llama 4 Maverick?
gpt-oss-120b — released August 5, 2025, about 4 months after Llama 4 Maverick.
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.