The headline metric
Token efficiency gap on equivalent coding tasks
72% fewer output tokens
When your workflow runs multi-step agent loops, this compounds into speed and cost differences.
Cost table at different scales
| Daily coding agent volume | GPT-5.5 estimate | Opus 4.7 estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Small (50 tasks/day) | $40-80 | $140-280 |
| Medium (500 tasks/day) | $400-800 | $1,400-2,800 |
| Large (5,000 tasks/day) | $4,000-8,000 | $14,000-28,000 |
Illustrative values from the source comparison article.
Decision chart: who should use what?
Prefer GPT-5.5 when
- Task volume is high and cost control matters
- Work is discrete: bug fixes, tests, small features
- Latency and throughput matter daily
Prefer Opus 4.7 when
- Tasks require deep multi-file reasoning
- Explanation quality is part of deliverable
- Quality on ambiguous tasks beats speed