GPT-4o vs gpt-oss-20b
At a Glance
| Compare |  GPT-4oOpenAI | gpt-oss-20bOpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v4.4 | #43 of 570.0 score · 1/3 sources · single-source provisional · missing LiveBench, ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 0.0–66.7 | #43 of 570.0 score · 1/3 sources · single-source provisional · missing LiveBench, ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 0.0–66.7 |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $1.25Openrouter ↗ · Oct 20, 2026 | $0.018Openrouter ↗ · Oct 20, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $5.00Openrouter ↗ · Oct 20, 2026 | $0.090Openrouter ↗ · Oct 20, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 128K | 131K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 29, 2026View model evidence → | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → |
Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →
Available Benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-4o | gpt-oss-20b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-10-15-a64ca3b12b6e · arena_rating · statistical tie | 1,282.50100% of row best · rating · gpt-4o-2024-08-06; 95% CI [1278.31275237, 1286.69364786]; votes 45499; rank 267 | 1,287.43100% of row best · rating · gpt-oss-20b; 95% CI [1281.03637900, 1293.81371199]; votes 10419; rank 260 |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above · 1 tie | 0 benchmark winsNo overall winner | 0 benchmark winsNo overall winner |
Third-party benchmark Only like-for-like primary-publisher results are shown; raw scores, relative scores, configuration, and token spend remain visible.
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | GPT-4o | gpt-oss-20b |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | OpenAI | OpenAI |
| Family | Gpt 4o | Gpt Oss |
| Model | GPT-4o | gpt-oss-20b |
| Version | GPT-4o | gpt-oss-20b |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | Unknown | Unknown |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-10-01 | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 128K | 131K |
| Total parameters | Unknown | 20.9B |
| Active parameters | Unknown | 3.6B |
| License | Unknown | apache-2.0 |
| Open weights | No | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes |
| Provider access | Openai (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) | Deepinfra (Standard), Groq (Standard), Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Serverless, Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, tools | chat, generation, reasoning, tools |
GPT-4o Capabilities
gpt-oss-20b Capabilities
Related Comparisons
All text comparisons →| A | Pair | B | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
Claude Haiku 4.5Anthropic | vs | GPT-4oOpenAI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
 Gemma 4 E2BGoogle DeepMind | vs | GPT-4oOpenAI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Gemma 4 E4BGoogle DeepMind | vs | GPT-4oOpenAI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
| vs | GPT-4oOpenAI | cross-developer peersimage, text | |
GPT-4oOpenAI | vs | GPT-5OpenAI | family variantsimage, text |
GPT-4oOpenAI | vs | GPT-5.2OpenAI | family variantsimage, text |
GPT-4oOpenAI | vs | gpt-oss-120bOpenAI | family variantstext |
GPT-4oOpenAI | vs |  SonarPerplexity | cross-developer peerstext |
GPT-4oOpenAI | vs |  GLM-OCRZ.ai | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
GPT-4o vs gpt-oss-20b FAQs
Is GPT-4o or gpt-oss-20b better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both GPT-4o and gpt-oss-20b, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, GPT-4o or gpt-oss-20b?+
GPT-4o is $1.25 and gpt-oss-20b is $0.018 per million tokens, so gpt-oss-20b is cheaper on this metric. GPT-4o is $5.00 and gpt-oss-20b is $0.090 per million tokens, so gpt-oss-20b is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, GPT-4o or gpt-oss-20b?+
gpt-oss-20b has the larger sourced context window. GPT-4o supports 128,000 tokens and gpt-oss-20b supports 131,072 tokens.
Which performs better in benchmarks, GPT-4o or gpt-oss-20b?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can GPT-4o or gpt-oss-20b be self-hosted?+
gpt-oss-20b is documented as self-hostable; GPT-4o is documented as not self-hostable. GPT-4o is not marked open weight; gpt-oss-20b is open weight.
Can GPT-4o and gpt-oss-20b understand images?+
GPT-4o is documented with image input; gpt-oss-20b is not documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, GPT-4o or gpt-oss-20b?+
GPT-4o has a sourced maximum output of 16,384 tokens; gpt-oss-20b's maximum output is not reported. A larger limit cannot be determined.
Do GPT-4o and gpt-oss-20b support reasoning and tool use?+
GPT-4o: tool calling and image input. gpt-oss-20b: reasoning and tool calling. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, GPT-4o or gpt-oss-20b?+
GPT-4o has 2 sourced provider routes; gpt-oss-20b has 5, so gpt-oss-20b has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, GPT-4o or gpt-oss-20b?+
There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.