GPT-Series Faceoff: Exploring the Unique Aspects of GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo & GPT-4o Models

Quick Links

• GPT-4 vs. GPT-4 Turbo vs. GPT-4o
• Which GPT-4 Model Should You Use?

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Key Takeaways

• GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, and GPT-4o have varying costs, speeds, and features for different tasks.
• GPT-4o is the most powerful and accurate, but it is limited for free users; consider upgrading to ChatGPT Plus for more features.
• Choose the model based on task complexity and accuracy needs.

With the May 2024 release of GPT-4o to accompany GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo, you’re probably wondering what the difference between these AI models is—and which ChatGPT model you should actually use.

Although OpenAI’s GPT-4 models start from the same foundation, they have some considerable differences that mean they’re better suited to some tasks than others, not to mention the cost associated with accessing them.

So, what’s the difference between OpenAI’s GPT-4 models?

GPT-4 vs. GPT-4 Turbo vs. GPT-4o

OpenAI’s GPT-4 models include several variants, each designed to meet different needs. Here’s an overview of the differences between GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, and GPT-4o (Omni).

GPT-4

GPT-4 is the foundational model. It understands and generates complex sentences and is useful for a broad range of applications, such as creative writing, data analysis, language translation, and code generation. With GPT-4’s 23,000-25,000 word context window, you can also attach multiple long documents and have them answer any queries about your uploaded files. Since this is the base model for the series, you’ll also be able to access all of GPT -4’s useful features on both GPT-4 Turbo and GPT-4o.

GPT-4 Turbo

GPT-4 Turbo builds on GPT -4’s capabilities by focusing on efficiency and cost-effectiveness. It delivers faster response times due to improved computational efficiency, making it suitable for users who need quicker outputs. Additionally, GPT-4 Turbo excels in accuracy, especially in mathematical problems, outperforming GPT-4 in various benchmarks. This model also introduces advanced features like JSON mode and parallel function calling, contributing to more robust and reproducible outputs.

GPT-4o

GPT-4o (“o” for “omni”) is the latest addition to the GPT-4 series of models and is the default model selected for both ChatGPT Free and Plus users. This model is smarter and twice as fast as GPT-4 Turbo, making it ideal for real-time applications. GPT-4o is also the first multimodal model in the series, capable of analyzing all kinds of file formats such as text, audio, image, and video, and can generate text and images all within ChatGPT.

Additionally, OpenAI has allowed free tier users limited GPT-4o access, at 16 messages every 3 hours. After that, ChatGPT will revert to using GPT-3.5.

Here’s a breakdown of each GPT-4 model:

In addition to costs, response times, and context window, I’ve also added the accuracy benchmark for each model to help compare accuracy in various tasks. The benchmark tests include MMLU for testing academic knowledge, GPQA for assessing general knowledge, HumanEval for assessing the models’ ability to code, and MATH for solving math problems. In each, a higher score is better.

Which GPT-4 Model Should You Use?

Choosing the right model depends on your specific needs and the nature of the tasks you intend to perform.

GPT-4o is the most powerful model in the lineup. It has the highest accuracy scores in all benchmarked tests and will likely perform best in any interaction. However, the number of messages you can send GPT-4o is limited, especially for free-tier users. This limitation is a key onewhy you should still upgrade to ChatGPT Plus . Still, it is best to reserve the use of GPT-4o for interactions that require multimodal inputs and outputs or when the utmost accuracy is needed. GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo are only available for ChatGPT Plus users. If you already have a Plus account, using GPT-4 Turbo in all your ChatGPT interactions makes more sense unless you require GPT-4o.

However, GPT-4 Turbo is currently unavailable in ChatGPT even though it was made available on April 12, 2024. This means you’ll have to stick with the GPT-4 model for most tasks and use GPT-4o for more complex tasks until OpenAI makes GPT-4 Turbo available again.