Claude 4 Opus vs GPT-5: Head to Head

The AI coding wars have heated up. With Anthropic's Claude 4 Opus and OpenAI's GPT-5 both claiming developer supremacy, we put them to the test.

Our Testing Methodology

We evaluated both models across 15 categories:

• Algorithm implementation
• Bug detection and fixing
• Code refactoring
• API design
• System architecture
• Database query optimization

The Surprising Results

| Task | Claude 4 Opus | GPT-5 | |------|--------------|-------| | Complex Algorithms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | | Bug Detection | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | | Code Explanation | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | | System Design | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |

Key Takeaways

Claude 4 Opus excels at:

• Long-context understanding (200K tokens)
• Following complex instructions precisely
• Explaining reasoning step-by-step

GPT-5 shines in:

• Creative problem solving
• Multi-modal code generation
• Integration with existing toolchains

"The best model is the one that fits your workflow. Both are exceptional."

My Recommendation

For day-to-day coding assistance, Claude 4 Opus edges ahead with its instruction-following precision. For experimental projects, GPT-5's creativity is unmatched.