Choosing Your AI Model: GPT-4 vs Claude vs Gemini

Compare GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, Groq, and other LLMs for your AI agents. Learn which model to choose for different use cases and how to optimize costs.

One of PromptOwl's key advantages is multi-LLM support. But with five providers and dozens of models, how do you choose? This guide helps you pick the right model for your use case.


Quick Decision Guide

Just want a recommendation?

Use Case
Recommended Model
Why

Customer Support

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Best at following instructions, natural tone

Content Writing

GPT-4o

Creative, good with style and formatting

Fast Responses

Groq Llama 3.1 70B

10x faster than competitors

Real-Time Info

Grok-2

Real-time information access

Cost-Sensitive High Volume

GPT-4o-mini or Claude Haiku

Cheap but capable

Complex Reasoning

Claude 3 Opus or GPT-4

Maximum intelligence


Providers Overview

PromptOwlarrow-up-right supports five LLM providers:

OpenAI

Models: GPT-4o, GPT-4o-mini, GPT-4, o1, o1-mini

Model
Speed
Quality
Cost
Best For

GPT-4o

Fast

Excellent

Medium

General purpose, vision

GPT-4o-mini

Very Fast

Good

Low

High volume, simple tasks

GPT-4

Medium

Excellent

High

Complex reasoning

o1

Slow

Exceptional

Very High

Math, logic, analysis

o1-mini

Medium

Very Good

High

Reasoning on a budget

Strengths:

  • Most widely used, extensive documentation

  • Best code generation

  • Strong at following complex instructions

  • Multimodal (images)

Weaknesses:

  • Can be verbose

  • Occasional "assistant-brain" feel

  • Higher cost at scale


Anthropic (Claude)

Models: Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 3 Opus, Claude 3 Haiku

Model
Speed
Quality
Cost
Best For

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Fast

Excellent

Medium

Best all-rounder

Claude 3 Opus

Slow

Exceptional

Very High

Complex analysis

Claude 3 Haiku

Very Fast

Good

Low

High volume support

Strengths:

  • Most natural, human-like conversations

  • Excellent at following nuanced instructions

  • Strong safety and refusal behaviors

  • Great for customer-facing applications

Weaknesses:

  • Can be overly cautious sometimes

  • Less code-focused than GPT-4

  • Smaller ecosystem


Google (Gemini)

Models: Gemini Pro, Gemini Flash

Model
Speed
Quality
Cost
Best For

Gemini Pro

Medium

Very Good

Medium

Balanced performance

Gemini Flash

Very Fast

Good

Low

Fast, cheap responses

Strengths:

  • Strong multimodal capabilities

  • Good at long context

  • Competitive pricing

  • Integration with Google services

Weaknesses:

  • Less consistent than OpenAI/Anthropic

  • Smaller developer community

  • Can struggle with complex instructions


Groq

Models: Llama 3.1 70B, Llama 3.1 8B, Mixtral 8x7B

Model
Speed
Quality
Cost
Best For

Llama 3.1 70B

Extremely Fast

Very Good

Low

Speed-critical apps

Llama 3.1 8B

Extremely Fast

Moderate

Very Low

Simple tasks

Mixtral 8x7B

Extremely Fast

Good

Low

Balanced speed/quality

Strengths:

  • 10x faster than other providers

  • Open source models (Llama, Mixtral)

  • Very competitive pricing

  • Great for real-time applications

Weaknesses:

  • Smaller context windows

  • Less refined than GPT-4/Claude

  • Limited model selection


Grok (xAI)

Models: Grok-2, Grok-2-mini

Model
Speed
Quality
Cost
Best For

Grok-2

Medium

Very Good

Medium

General purpose

Grok-2-mini

Fast

Good

Low

Faster responses

Strengths:

  • Real-time information access

  • Less restrictive than competitors

  • Strong reasoning capabilities

Weaknesses:

  • Newer, less proven

  • Smaller ecosystem

  • Limited documentation


Choosing by Use Case

Customer Support

Recommended: Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Claude 3 Haiku

Why:

  • Most natural conversational tone

  • Excellent at following support guidelines

  • Good at expressing empathy

  • Handles frustrated users well

Settings:

  • Temperature: 0.3

  • Max tokens: 500-1000


Content Generation

Recommended: GPT-4o or Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Why:

  • Creative and engaging writing

  • Good at matching brand voice

  • Handles formatting well

  • Consistent quality

Settings:

  • Temperature: 0.7-0.9

  • Max tokens: 2000+


Data Analysis

Recommended: GPT-4o or Claude 3 Opus

Why:

  • Strong reasoning capabilities

  • Good with numbers and patterns

  • Can explain findings clearly

  • Handles complex instructions

Settings:

  • Temperature: 0.2

  • Max tokens: 1500


Real-Time Applications

Recommended: Groq Llama 3.1 70B

Why:

  • 10x faster response times

  • Low latency for interactive apps

  • Good enough quality for most tasks

  • Cost-effective at scale

Settings:

  • Temperature: 0.3

  • Max tokens: 500


Research Assistant

Recommended: GPT-4o or Claude 3.5 Sonnet with Web Search Tool

Why:

  • Strong reasoning capabilities

  • Pair with PromptOwl's Serper or Brave search tools

  • Excellent at synthesizing information

  • Great for fact-checking and analysis

Settings:

  • Temperature: 0.3

  • Enable web search tool in PromptOwl


High-Volume / Cost-Sensitive

Recommended: GPT-4o-mini, Claude 3 Haiku, or Groq Llama 3.1 8B

Why:

  • 10-20x cheaper than flagship models

  • Still capable for simple tasks

  • Fast response times

  • Scales economically

Settings:

  • Temperature: 0.3

  • Max tokens: 300-500


Cost Comparison

Approximate pricing (per 1M tokens):

Model
Input
Output
Relative Cost

GPT-4o

$2.50

$10

Medium

GPT-4o-mini

$0.15

$0.60

Very Low

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

$3

$15

Medium

Claude 3 Haiku

$0.25

$1.25

Low

Claude 3 Opus

$15

$75

Very High

Gemini Pro

$1.25

$5

Low-Medium

Gemini Flash

$0.075

$0.30

Very Low

Groq Llama 70B

$0.59

$0.79

Low

Grok-2

~$2

~$10

Medium

Cost optimization strategies:

  1. Use cheap models for simple routing/classification

  2. Use expensive models only for final response

  3. Limit max tokens to what's needed

  4. Cache common responses


Mixing Models in PromptOwl

PromptOwl lets you use different models for different purposes:

Per-Agent Model Selection

Each agent can use a different model:

  • Support bot → Claude 3.5 Sonnet

  • Content writer → GPT-4o

  • Quick classifier → GPT-4o-mini

Per-Block Model Selection (Sequential/Supervisor)

In workflows, each block can use a different model:

Supervisor Multi-Model Patterns


Testing Model Differences

Use PromptOwl's evaluation system to compare:

  1. Create an evaluation set with test questions

  2. Run the same prompt with different models

  3. Compare results on quality and speed

  4. Check costs in your provider dashboards

A/B Testing Pattern

  1. Create two versions of your agent (same prompt, different models)

  2. Split traffic between them

  3. Collect annotations/feedback

  4. Compare satisfaction scores

  5. Choose the winner


Frequently Asked Questions

Which model is "best"?

There's no single best model. It depends on:

  • Your use case (support vs. content vs. analysis)

  • Budget constraints

  • Speed requirements

  • Quality expectations

Start with Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o as a baseline, then optimize.

Should I always use the most expensive model?

No. For many use cases, smaller models work fine:

  • Simple Q&A: GPT-4o-mini is enough

  • Routing/classification: Cheap models work well

  • High volume: Cost adds up fast with expensive models

Strategy: Use expensive models for complex tasks, cheap models for simple ones.

How do I switch models without breaking my agent?

PromptOwl makes this easy:

  1. Go to your agent settings

  2. Change the model dropdown

  3. Test with your evaluation set

  4. Deploy if quality is maintained

Your prompt and API stay the same.

Can I use different models in one workflow?

Yes! In Sequential and Supervisor agents, each block can use a different model. This is powerful for cost optimization.

What about fine-tuned models?

PromptOwl supports fine-tuned models through the standard provider APIs. Configure your fine-tuned model ID in the model settings.


Quick Reference

Need
Model
Provider

Best quality

Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o

Anthropic / OpenAI

Fastest

Groq Llama 3.1 70B

Groq

Cheapest

GPT-4o-mini or Gemini Flash

OpenAI / Google

Real-time info

Grok-2

xAI

Best reasoning

o1 or Claude 3 Opus

OpenAI / Anthropic

Best for support

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Anthropic

Best for code

GPT-4o

OpenAI


Learn More


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