GPT 4.1 pricing for code generation

Quick start

Call GPT 4.1 with the OpenAI Python SDK:

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI()
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4.1",
    max_tokens=4000,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your prompt here"}]
)
# Cost: ~$0.0360 per call at standard rates
# Input:  $2.00/MTok
# Output: $8.00/MTok

How GPT 4.1 compares on cost

Per-call cost for all models scoring 50+ on code generation benchmarks. Hover for details.

Cheapest viable option: Claude Sonnet 5 at $0.0440/call (-22% less, 93/100 quality).

What drives code generation cost

Cost here is dominated by output, not input: the model writes far more than you ask. A prompt with a short spec and a few reference files runs 2K input, but a complete module comes back at 4K output or more, so a model's output rate matters roughly twice as much as its input rate. The biggest saving is not a cheaper model: it is caching the system prompt and coding standards you resend on every call.

For GPT 4.1 specifically, that means output tokens cost 4.0x more than input, at $8.00 vs $2.00 per MTok. At this use case’s 2,000/4,000 token split, output accounts for 89% of the $0.0360 per-call cost.

GPT 4.1 quality benchmarks for code generation

Benchmark data for code generation is pending for GPT 4.1. Test against your own evaluation suite before moving to production.

Performance across all task types

GPT 4.1 scores by task type. Code Generation highlighted.

Confidence scores are a third-party benchmark snapshot from week 29 of 2026. This snapshot is 10 weeks old, so treat the scores as directional and validate against your own evals.

About GPT 4.1

Backfilled on 2026-09-23. Prices confirmed by the provider pricing page and the LiteLLM cross-check. Release date not published in a machine-readable source. Not yet benchmarked, so never recommended.

Other models from GPT

You can compare GPT 4.1 head-to-head against any other model on our model comparison pages, or track how pricing has changed over time on the pricing history tracker.

Frequently asked questions