OpenAI vs Anthropic vs Google: Real Cost Comparison 2026
Side-by-side pricing comparison of GPT-5, Claude Opus 4.6, and Gemini 2.5 Pro with real cost calculations for production workloads.
Choosing an LLM provider in 2026 isn't just about benchmark scores — it's about what you'll actually pay when running thousands of requests per day. We pulled pricing directly from our gateway data to give you a clear, no-nonsense comparison across OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google's current model lineups.
Flagship Models: Head-to-Head
These are the top-tier models from each provider — the ones you'd reach for when quality matters most.
| Model | Input (per 1M tokens) | Output (per 1M tokens) | Context Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-5 | $1.25 | $10.00 | 400K |
| Claude Opus 4.6 | $5.00 | $25.00 | 1M |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | $1.25 | $10.00 | 1M |
GPT-5 and Gemini 2.5 Pro are priced identically at the flagship tier. Claude Opus 4.6 commands a premium but offers the largest context window at 1M tokens with advanced reasoning capabilities.
Mid-Tier Models: Best Balance
For most production use cases, mid-tier models offer the best quality-to-cost ratio.
| Model | Input (per 1M tokens) | Output (per 1M tokens) | Context Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o | $2.50 | $10.00 | 128K |
| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | $3.00 | $15.00 | 200K |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | $0.30 | $2.50 | 1M |
Gemini 2.5 Flash is the clear cost leader here — roughly 10x cheaper on input and 4-6x cheaper on output than its competitors, while still offering reasoning capabilities and a massive 1M token context window.
Budget Models: High-Volume Workloads
When you're processing millions of requests and need to keep costs down.
| Model | Input (per 1M tokens) | Output (per 1M tokens) | Context Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4.1 Nano | $0.10 | $0.40 | 1M |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | $1.00 | $5.00 | 200K |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | $0.10 | $0.40 | 1M |
GPT-4.1 Nano and Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite are priced identically and are 10x cheaper than Claude Haiku 4.5. Both also offer 1M token context windows.
Real-World Cost: 10,000 Requests Per Day
Let's calculate what you'd actually pay. We'll assume an average request of 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens — typical for a chatbot or content generation app.
Daily token volume: 10M input tokens + 5M output tokens
Flagship Tier Daily Cost
| Model | Input Cost | Output Cost | Daily Total | Monthly (30 days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-5 | $12.50 | $50.00 | $62.50 | $1,875 |
| Claude Opus 4.6 | $50.00 | $125.00 | $175.00 | $5,250 |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | $12.50 | $50.00 | $62.50 | $1,875 |
Mid-Tier Daily Cost
| Model | Input Cost | Output Cost | Daily Total | Monthly (30 days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o | $25.00 | $50.00 | $75.00 | $2,250 |
| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | $30.00 | $75.00 | $105.00 | $3,150 |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | $3.00 | $12.50 | $15.50 | $465 |
Budget Tier Daily Cost
| Model | Input Cost | Output Cost | Daily Total | Monthly (30 days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4.1 Nano | $1.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 | $90 |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | $10.00 | $25.00 | $35.00 | $1,050 |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite | $1.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 | $90 |
The Smarter Approach: Use the Right Model for Each Request
These numbers assume you're using a single model for everything — but that's rarely optimal. In practice, most AI applications have a mix of simple and complex requests.
A typical breakdown might look like:
- 70% of requests are simple (classification, extraction, basic Q&A) → route to budget models
- 20% of requests are moderate (summarization, content generation) → route to mid-tier models
- 10% of requests are complex (reasoning, analysis, coding) → route to flagship models
With intelligent routing through an LLM gateway, you can achieve flagship-quality results where it matters while keeping average costs near budget-tier levels.
Compare Models Side-by-Side
Want to explore pricing for all 300+ models we support? Use our model comparison tool to filter by provider, price, context window, and capabilities — then test any model in the Playground.