LLM API Comparison: OpenAI vs Anthropic vs Google
Building AI applications? Choosing the right API impacts cost, performance, and capabilities. Here’s your guide.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | OpenAI | Anthropic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top Model | GPT-4o | Claude 3.5 | Gemini 1.5 |
| Context | 128K | 200K | 1M+ |
| Pricing | Medium | Medium | Competitive |
| Rate Limits | Generous | Moderate | Generous |
| Best For | General | Coding/Analysis | Long context |
OpenAI API
Models Available
- GPT-4o: Latest, multimodal
- GPT-4 Turbo: Previous flagship
- GPT-3.5 Turbo: Fast, cheap
- o1-preview: Reasoning model
Pricing (per 1M tokens)
| Model | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o | $5 | $15 |
| GPT-3.5 Turbo | $0.50 | $1.50 |
Strengths
- Largest ecosystem
- Best documentation
- Most integrations
- Function calling robust
Best For
- General applications
- Chatbots
- Content generation
- Multimodal apps
Anthropic API (Claude)
Models Available
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet: Best balanced
- Claude 3 Opus: Most capable
- Claude 3 Haiku: Fast, cheap
Pricing (per 1M tokens)
| Model | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Claude 3.5 Sonnet | $3 | $15 |
| Claude 3 Haiku | $0.25 | $1.25 |
Strengths
- Largest context window
- Best for coding
- Lower hallucination
- Strong safety features
Best For
- Coding assistants
- Document analysis
- Technical applications
- Regulated industries
Google API (Gemini)
Models Available
- Gemini 1.5 Pro: Flagship
- Gemini 1.5 Flash: Fast, efficient
- Gemini Ultra: Most capable
Pricing (per 1M tokens)
| Model | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini 1.5 Pro | $3.50 | $10.50 |
| Gemini 1.5 Flash | $0.075 | $0.30 |
Strengths
- Massive context (1M+)
- Competitive pricing
- Native multimodal
- Google Cloud integration
Best For
- Long document processing
- Multimodal applications
- Video analysis
- Google Cloud users
Cost Comparison Example
Processing 1M tokens input + 100K tokens output:
| Provider | Model | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | GPT-4o | $6.50 |
| Anthropic | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | $4.50 |
| Gemini 1.5 Pro | $4.55 | |
| Gemini 1.5 Flash | $0.11 |
Rate Limits
OpenAI
- Tier 1: 500 RPM, 200K TPM
- Tier 5: 10K RPM, 30M TPM
- Based on usage history
Anthropic
- Standard: 1000 RPM
- Higher tiers available
- Contact for enterprise
- Free: 60 RPM
- Pay-as-you-go: Higher
- Enterprise: Custom
Choosing Your API
Choose OpenAI If:
- You need broad ecosystem support
- Building general chatbots
- Want simplest integration
- Need image generation
Choose Anthropic If:
- Building coding tools
- Need long context
- Care about safety
- In regulated industry
Choose Google If:
- Processing very long documents
- Need cheapest option (Flash)
- Already on Google Cloud
- Working with video
Multi-Provider Strategy
Many production apps use multiple APIs:
User Query
↓
Router Logic
↓
[Simple] → GPT-3.5 or Gemini Flash (cheap, fast)
[Complex] → Claude or GPT-4o (capable)
[Long] → Claude or Gemini (big context)Implementation Tips
- Start with one, add others as needed
- Build abstraction layer for easy switching
- Monitor costs closely
- Test quality on your specific use case
- Plan for fallbacks if one provider is down
Need help building with LLM APIs? Our team can help.