This guy spent 8 hours testing ChatGPT Pro ($200/month) vs ...
This week, OpenAI introduced O1, a new AI model that the company has labeled “the smartest model in the world.” Along with this announcement came ChatGPT Pro, a premium subscription priced at $200/month. It’s pitched at power users and businesses who want access to the latest AI capabilities, including multimodality.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also shared on X that the O1 API will soon roll out for developers. While the announcements generated plenty of excitement, it didn’t take long for curious users to pit O1 against competitors. A Reddit user known as Kakachia777 spent eight hours testing ChatGPT Pro against Claude Sonnet 3.5, a far more affordable option at just $20 per month. The outcome? It’s not what you’d expect. Here’s a breakdown of his findings.
Performance Comparison
ChatGPT Pro claimed the win here, but only by a small margin. It delivered more accurate results, but the process took noticeably longer—20 to 30 seconds more per response. Meanwhile, Claude Sonnet 3.5 still hit an impressive 90% accuracy in much less time, showing it’s no slouch in this category.
Code Quality and Documentation
Here’s where things get interesting. Claude Sonnet 3.5 stood out with cleaner, easier-to-maintain code and solid documentation. On the other hand, ChatGPT Pro tended to overcomplicate solutions. For developers, this makes Claude a more practical choice.
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Mathematical Capabilities
For those dealing with higher-level math, ChatGPT Pro came out ahead. It handled PhD-level problems with ease, making it a strong contender for academic and research-heavy tasks. That said, Claude Sonnet 3.5 still managed to handle 95% of day-to-day math challenges, which is more than enough for most users.
Multimodal Capabilities
This is where ChatGPT Pro shines. Its multimodal capabilities provided detailed image interpretation, a feature Claude currently lacks. If visual tasks are part of your workflow, this could be a deciding factor.
Final Thoughts
Both models performed well but excelled in different ways. ChatGPT Pro delivered deeper insights, while Claude was praised for its straightforward explanations. Depending on what you value more—depth or clarity—either could work for you.
Is ChatGPT Pro worth ten times the cost of Claude Sonnet 3.5? For most people, probably not. The performance gap isn’t as dramatic as the price difference suggests, and Claude handles the vast majority of tasks with ease. Unless your work involves cutting-edge visual tasks or highly specialized academic problems, Claude offers far better value.
At the end of the day, both models have their strengths. The real question is whether you’re getting enough value for your spending. For most users, Claude Sonnet 3.5 will more than do the job without making a big dent in your wallet.
“I spent 8 hours testing o1 Pro ($200) vs Claude Sonnet 3.5 ($20) – Here’s what nobody tells you about the real-world performance difference: Use casesAfter seeing all the hype about o1 Pro’s release, I decided to do an extensive comparison. The results were surprising, and I wanted to share my findings with the community.
Testing MethodologyI ran both models through identical scenarios, focusing on real-world applications rather than just benchmarks. Each test was repeated multiple times to ensure consistency.
Key Findings Value Proposition Breakdown Interesting Observations Should You Pay 10x More?For most users, probably not. Here’s why:
Who Should Use Each Model?Unless you specifically need vision capabilities or that extra 5-10% accuracy for specialized tasks, Claude Sonnet 3.5 at $20/month provides better value for most users than o1 Pro at $200/month.”
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