GPT-5 vs Claude 4: Full Review, and Performance Comparison

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Eric Walker · 7, August 2025

In 2025, the AI landscape is dominated by two major players: GPT-5 from OpenAI and Claude 4 from Anthropic. Both large language models (LLMs) promise advanced reasoning, improved context retention, and more natural conversations. But which one actually performs better in real-world use? This review is based on a week-long test covering research, creative writing, coding, and safety evaluation.

First Impressions of GPT-5 and Claude 4

  • GPT-5 immediately feels responsive, versatile, and adaptive. It easily switches between casual chat and formal professional writing, making it highly flexible for different tasks.
  • Claude 4 gives a more cautious and polished first impression. Its tone is consistently professional, ideal for business communication or situations requiring precise wording.
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Reasoning and Analytical Performance

When tackling multi-step reasoning challenges, GPT-5 excels. It can deconstruct problems into smaller, logical steps and often proposes multiple valid solutions. For example, in a dataset cleaning task, GPT-5 not only identified errors but also suggested better data collection methods.

Claude 4 is equally capable but shines more in ethical reasoning and nuanced decision-making. It is more likely to identify potential risks, which is beneficial for compliance, journalism, or policy research.

Creativity and Writing Style

  • GPT-5: Highly adaptable. It can generate imaginative short stories, persuasive marketing copy, or technical manuals without losing the requested tone.
  • Claude 4: Prefers a consistent and structured approach. While less experimental than GPT-5, it produces professional, client-ready documents.

Coding and Developer Support

For coding tasks, GPT-5 demonstrates strong multi-language support and produces runnable, well-documented scripts. It also offers step-by-step debugging guidance.

Claude 4 is reliable in code generation but leans toward safer, simpler solutions, which may require further optimization.

Context Memory and Long Conversations

GPT-5 benefits from an extended context window, remembering details from longer conversations and maintaining topic coherence over time.

Claude 4 supports long contexts too, but tends to trim earlier details more aggressively, which some users may prefer for a “fresh” perspective.

Safety and Content Handling

Both models have robust safety systems, but they operate differently:

  • GPT-5: Reframes sensitive requests into productive responses.
  • Claude 4: More often refuses or redirects when a topic could be risky, even if it’s safe in context.
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Final Verdict — GPT-5 or Claude 4?

  • Choose GPT-5 if you need creativity, speed, and flexibility across varied tasks like brainstorming, technical problem-solving, and content generation.
  • Choose Claude 4 if you want caution, consistency, and ethical foresight for formal writing, sensitive research, or high-risk decision-making.

Best practice: Use both. Start with GPT-5 for bold ideas and complex reasoning, then refine with Claude 4 for accuracy, clarity, and tone.

Free GPT-5 and Claude 4 available on GlobalGPT, an all-in-one AI platform.

Relevant Resources