The real GPT vs Claude API cost comparison
Rate cards are the smallest part of the comparison. For agent workloads, volume, reasoning depth, and context dominate. Here's the comparison that matters.
Every "GPT vs Claude cost" comparison starts with the rate card. It's the least useful number for agent workloads, because agents don't bill like chat sessions — they bill like processes.
What actually drives the bill
Volume: agents call models hundreds of times per task. Reasoning depth: reasoning models charge premium output rates, and agents reason a lot. Context: long sessions re-send big contexts. Retries: loops multiply everything. The rate card is one factor in four.
The comparison that matters
Compare models for your task shape, measure with your audit log, and cap the total. The Claude API cost and GPT API cost pages walk through each. The winner isn't the cheaper rate — it's the workload that fits the model, governed by a budget.