API cost decision in 10 seconds

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) vs GPT-5.4 Image 2

Pick Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) when budget and context both matter.

Page updated: 2026-08-06T14:08:16Z Data confirmed: 2026-08-23T13:07:49Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) is estimated at $8.75 vs $15.5 for GPT-5.4 Image 2, saving $6.75 (43.5% lower).

Cost-first pickClaude Opus 4.8 (batch)

Context-first pickClaude Opus 4.8 (batch)

Sample savings$6.7543.5%

10x traffic gap$67.5

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $67.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)	GPT-5.4 Image 2
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)	$18.75	$47.5
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)	$15	$23
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)	$65	$83

Cheaper input Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) $2.5 vs $8 / 1M

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) is $5.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (68.8% lower; 3.2x difference).

Cheaper output Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) $12.5 vs $15 / 1M

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) is $2.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (16.7% lower; 1.2x difference).

Larger context Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) 1M vs 272K

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) has 728K more context (3.68x larger).

Sample workload Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) $8.75 vs $15.5

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) is $6.75 cheaper on the standard workload (43.5% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) Calculating… Estimated API cost

GPT-5.4 Image 2 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) has the lower input price; Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) has the lower output price; Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $8.75 for Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) and $15.5 for GPT-5.4 Image 2.

Best Fit

Choose Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Choose GPT-5.4 Image 2 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) is estimated at $8.75 vs $15.5 for GPT-5.4 Image 2, saving $6.75 (43.5% lower).
Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) is $6.75 cheaper on the standard workload (43.5% lower).
Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) is $5.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (68.8% lower; 3.2x difference).
Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) is $2.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (16.7% lower; 1.2x difference).
Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) has 728K more context (3.68x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) (Anthropic)	GPT-5.4 Image 2 (OpenAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$2.5	$8
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$12.5	$15
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$8.75	$15.5
Context Window	1M	272K
Release Date	2026-05-27	2026-04-21

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) is estimated at $8.75 vs $15.5 for GPT-5.4 Image 2, saving $6.75 (43.5% lower).
High-volume input processing	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Claude 3 Haiku can replace Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.88.
Claude Haiku 4.5 (batch) can replace Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.75.
Claude 3.5 Haiku can replace Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.8.
Claude Sonnet 5 (batch) can replace Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.

Larger context near this budget

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.11 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #1
MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #2
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Ox Alpha · stealth · #4

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Anthropic catalog

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