GPT-4o vs gpt-oss-20b

API pricing, context window and capabilities for GPT-4o and gpt-oss-20b, side by side. Prices are the cheapest listed serving route per 1M tokens, from LiteLLM and OpenRouter.

Verdict

computed from the published numbers

gpt-oss-20b wins on price and on intelligence. Benchmark data is unavailable for one or both models.

Price
gpt-oss-20b
Terminal-Bench
Not called
Intelligence
gpt-oss-20b
Context window
Tied

Key takeaways

who wins on what, from the published numbers

GPT-4o wins

  • Supports vision
  • Supports audio

gpt-oss-20b wins

  • Cheaper input ($2.50 vs $0.0145 /1M)
  • Cheaper output ($10.00 vs $0.07 /1M)
  • Higher max output (16K vs 131K)
  • More serving providers (6 vs 15)
  • Has reasoning mode
  • Has web search
Cheaper overall
gpt-oss-20b
$0.0145 + $0.07 /1M
Larger context
Tied
More providers
gpt-oss-20b
15 providers

Pricing & specs

cheapest listed route · per 1M tokens
On-demand listed rates, OpenRouter routed quotes and Vercel reseller quotes. Enterprise commitments can be materially lower.
GPT-4ogpt-oss-20b
Input $/1M$2.50via OpenAI $0.0145via Darkbloom best
Output $/1M$10.00via OpenAI $0.07via Darkbloom best
Context window131K 131K
Max output16K 131K best
Serving providers6 15 best
DateReleased May 13, 2024 Released Mar 1, 2026

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores, side by side
GPT-4ogpt-oss-20b
Intelligence8.4 9.0 best
Terminal-BenchNot available 14%
GPQA Diamond54% 69% best
Output speed150 t/s 219 t/s best
Latency (TTFT)0.79s 0.77s best

Cost calculator

choose a serving route for each side
Input tokens / month
Output tokens / month
GPT-4o
via Gmi
$23
gpt-oss-20b
via Darkbloom
$0.143

Capabilities

feature support, side by side
FeatureGPT-4ogpt-oss-20b
Vision✓—
Tool use✓✓
Reasoning—✓
Audio✓—
Prompt caching✓✓
Structured output✓✓
Web search—✓

Related comparisons

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper, GPT-4o or gpt-oss-20b?
gpt-oss-20b is cheaper for input ($2.50 vs $0.0145 per 1M tokens) from Darkbloom. gpt-oss-20b is cheaper for output ($10.00 vs $0.07 per 1M tokens) from Darkbloom.
What is the context window difference between GPT-4o and gpt-oss-20b?
Both GPT-4o and gpt-oss-20b have about a 131K-token context window.
How do GPT-4o and gpt-oss-20b compare on benchmarks?
On the tracked benchmarks, gpt-oss-20b leads on intelligence.
Listed prices from LiteLLM, OpenRouter and Vercel · last checked Oct 14, 2026

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