OpenAI o1 vs GPT-4o | A Comprehensive Comparison

As OpenAI released its GPT-4o to the public, it has brought a big revolution in the AI world due to its multimodal features. Because it provides such features that no other AI model was providing before it, this model has advanced capabilities like image interpretation to audio processing. And GPT-4o rapidly became the new standard in consumer AI.

But as the user experience was improving, suddenly OpenAI released its new o1 model to the public, and this platform started becoming popular in many industries with its release, and many AI experts said that this model will prove to be the best model of OpenAI to date.

So if you are also confused about the differences and capabilities of both the models, then you have clicked on the right article because today in this detailed article, we will learn in detail about the capabilities of Open AI's O1 and GPT-40 models and will also try to understand the pros and cons of both. This is not going to be a boring and hard-won article like the other articles. Consider me your friend, and let's talk about both models.

Quick Summary

All the models of OpenAI have been quite revolutionary because if OpenAi were called the first company to have advanced AI models, then it would not be wrong at all.

GPT-4o is so popular because it is optimised for very fast working, and this model is affordable and versatile, supporting everything from text to audio.

And o1 is known for its high performance, logic-first model, which is the most important part of deep reasoning, coding, and complex mathematical tasks are possible only due to logic logic-first model.

Although different consumers prefer different models, there is confusion and doubt among many people as to which model is the best. So, after reading this detailed article, you will get an overall idea as to which model you can choose as per your needs.

What is GPT-4o?

So first of all, let's know about GPT-4o, this model was released in May 2024, and it was OpenAI's first fully multimodal model that supported text, vision, and audio. And the "o" in this model stands for "omni," and that's no exaggeration. This model could generate content of every kind quite quickly.

Its overall interface appeared like a chatbot to a great extent, but this AI chatbot could even understand your voice tone, and if you gave a screenshot of it, then it could scan what is written in the screenshot and give you your answer.

This model was capable of coding, writing, summarisation, and creative tasks. Many expert developers also call this model the Developer model because it supports everything from coding to complex mathematics. This is why this model became quite popular among developers, creators, students, and even businesses.

Core Features

• This version supported a lot of multimodal input/output, including text, images and audio.

• This model is known for its fast response time.

• It was highly cost-effective compared to other AI models.

• GPT-4o scored 88.7% on the MMLU benchmark.

• This model integrates across ChatGPT (free and paid)

• GPT-4o is ideal for consumer applications.

What is o1?

The o1 model is so different from GPT-4o because while GPT-4o is quick, versatile, and great for most day-to-day tasks, the o1 model is known for complicated tasks.  This model can easily perform complex activities like PhD-level math problems, multi-step logical puzzles, deep code analysis, and scientific reasoning.

o1 was released as a refined version of the O1-Preview model, and OpenAI designed this model with thinking and logical reasoning as a priority.

Core Features

• This model is designed for deep reasoning and problem-solving.

• o1 model's higher accuracy in math, physics, and logical reasoning compared with previous models.

• This model performs exceptionally well on GPQA and Codeforces.

• Although it consumes a lot of time to process, it also gives much smarter outputs.

• The best use of this model is in planning, analysis, and research.

• o1 model is limited to ChatGPT Pro users, and only developers can access it.

Performance Comparison of GPT-4o vs. o1

To understand both models properly, it is very important to understand their performance and capabilities.

Reasoning and Intelligence

Let’s imagine that we let both the models solve a complex word puzzle. If you are also wondering who will be able to solve the puzzle faster, then let’s go.

GPT-4o

• This model is great at understanding the question.

• GPT-4o always tries to solve it quickly.

• Sometimes, the output gets paused due to an error during processing.

o1

• This model takes a few seconds longer to give output tokens.

• In the complexity of outputs, it breaks down the problem into logical steps.

• More likely to reach a correct and detailed solution.

This is where o1 proves to have its own advantage. It mimics a human-style chain of thought reasoning. So when we say it’s like a smarter version of GPT-4o for hard tasks, we mean this.

Benchmarks

• GPT-4o: Its score remains average in most tasks.

• o1: This model outperforms in reasoning, solving 83% of IMO-level math problems vs. GPT-4o’s 13%.

If you have the intelligence and reasoning to perform such tasks, then you should prefer the O1 model.

Also read this article : What Are the Differences Between ChatGPT 4 vs 4o?

Multimodal Capabilities

So let's learn about the multimodal capabilities of both the models, because how consistent the output of any model is depends a lot on the multimodal capabilities.

GPT-4o

• This model can interpret charts, graphs, photos, and screenshots. This can also give output according to your data, even if your input is in the form of a screenshot.

• GPT-4o understands tone, context, and voice commands.

• By using text format, you can generate creative or unique content, for example, blogs, articles, and research papers.

o1

• This model is called text-based genius because it can generate any kind of content as per your requirements.

• One model can analyse images to some extent, but not natively.

• It does not have features of built-in audio processing or image generation.

• In a challenge where the task was to generate an image of a dog running by the seashore, GPT-4o can easily create it; on the other hand, o1 could only provide a text prompt.

For multimodal power, GPT-4o is best compared with the o1 model.

Speed and Cost

Whether it is an AI model or a tool, it is better to understand the maximum user speed cost and prefer any model.

GPT-4o

• This model gives quite fast output and response.

• The low latency of this model makes it perfect for real-time use cases.

• GPT-4o is very affordable, especially for high-frequency applications.

o1

• It takes a lot of time to process complex tasks.

• This model is 30x slower than GPT-4o in some cases.

• This model is significantly more expensive, especially in the API.

• If you're running a customer-facing app or chatbot, o1 could slow things down and burn your API budget.

GPT-4o is the clear choice for speed and affordability as compared with o1 model.

Use Cases: When to Use Which Model?

So let's know which model you should use when and what their use cases are. Honestly, no model is perfect, but we should use the best model only.

Best Use Cases for GPT-4o

• In this, you get the customer service chatbot feature.

• By using GPT-4o, you can create blogs, summaries, and creative content writing.

• It can easily analyze screenshots or interfaces.

• This model supports real-time interactions.

Best Use Cases for o1

• This model can easily solve tough math or logic puzzles.

• o1 model can do complex code writing and can even do bug analysis easily.

• It has features like scientific and academic writing.

• This model also has capabilities such as decision-making workflows and structured planning.

So, if your job is to analyze data, write technical papers, or build advanced systems, o1 is best for you, but if you’re helping users troubleshoot apps or write content quickly, GPT-4o works much well compared with the o1 model.

Access and Availability

Let us know about the availability and access of both models, so that you can decide which model is suitable for your working flow.

GPT-4o

• This model is available to everyone using ChatGPT, even free users.

• API access is widely available with generous rate limits.

o1

• o1 model is only accessible to Pro users on ChatGPT.

• This model has very limited API access as of early 2025.

This accessibility is a big matter in terms of usage, especially for startups or individual developers who want to integrate powerful models without enterprise plans. According to accessibility, GPT-4o is best, and it is also quite user-friendly.

Conclusion

So if you are also wondering which model is better, then let's know, basically, which model is best for you depends on your needs.

If you want a fast and cost-effective AI that can handle everything from image analysis to writing tweets and LinkedIn posts, GPT-4o will be the best option for you. This model is also quite popular due to its simple interface, and anyone can use this model without any technical knowledge.

But if you're working on complex problems, need deeper reasoning, or are creating something where accuracy matters more than speed, o1 is the best model for your requirements.

In short, you should use GPT-4o for versatility and scale, and o1 is best for depth and technical accuracy. OpenAI has effectively created two AI supermodels. And depending on your goals, either could be the best for your next big project.

FAQs