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

Side-by-side specs

Specgpt-oss-120bLlama 4 Maverick
ProviderOpenAI (US) Meta (US)
ReleasedAugust 5, 2025 April 2025
Context window131K (~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
Modalitiestext, code text, image, code
SWE-Bench Verified62.4% Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1MNot published Not published

Who wins what

Self-hostable on a single 80GB H100 GPU via MXFP4

gpt-oss-120b

A core design strength of gpt-oss-120b.

Configurable reasoning depth (low/medium/high)

gpt-oss-120b

A core design strength of gpt-oss-120b.

Agentic tool use, function calling, and code execution

gpt-oss-120b

A core design strength of gpt-oss-120b.

Open weights, 1M context

Llama 4 Maverick

A core design strength of Llama 4 Maverick.

Strong image + text understanding

Llama 4 Maverick

A core design strength of Llama 4 Maverick.

Self-hostable

Llama 4 Maverick

A core design strength of Llama 4 Maverick.

Largest single-prompt input

Llama 4 Maverick

Its 1M window is about 7.6× larger, 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 pricing

Frequently 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.