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  5. GPT-4.1vsPony Alpha
Updated Feb 2026

GPT-4.1vsPony Alpha

Pony Alpha is cheaper than GPT-4.1 at $0/M vs $2/M input tokens.

GPT-4.1 and Pony Alpha compared across 47 shared prompts
SpecGPT-4.1Pony Alpha
Input price$2/M tokensFree
Output price$8/M tokensFree
Context window1.0M tokens200K tokens
WeightsClosed—
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedApr 2025Feb 2026
Side by side

Same prompt, both answers

Opening lines from 6 of the 47 prompts both answered. Formatting stripped, words untouched.

Simple 7-Ingredient Recipe

Create a simple recipe for a delicious dish (sweet or savory) using only 7 common pantry ingredients. Include a creative name for the dish…

GPT-4.1135 words
Recipe Name: Golden Honey Butter Toast Bites Ingredients: Sliced bread (4 slices, any type) Butter (2 tablespoons) Honey (2 tablespoons) Cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon) Vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon) Brown sugar (1 tablespoon) Salt (a pinch) Instructions: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
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Pony Alpha313 words
Here is a recipe for a savory, comforting meal that comes together quickly using staples you likely have on hand. Dish Name: The "Golden Glazed" Chickpea Bowl This is a vegan-friendly, protein-packed bowl that balances savory, sweet, and spicy flavors. It works perfectly as a main course or a hearty side dish.
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Ethical Dilemma with Stakeholders

You're the CEO of a pharmaceutical company. Your best-selling drug ($2B annual revenue, used by 4 million patients for chronic pain) has…

GPT-4.1833 words
This is a high-stakes scenario requiring immediate, coordinated action balancing legal, ethical, financial, and reputational considerations. Here’s a detailed hour-by-hour plan for the next 48 hours, along with the reasoning behind each step: Hour 0-1: Immediate Response & Executive Alignment Convene Emergency…
Read the full answer
Pony Alpha1,132 words
This is a defining moment for my leadership and the company. The pressure from the board to "wait for more data" is a trap that has destroyed pharmaceutical companies in the past (e.g., Merck with Vioxx). Hiding a safety signal to manipulate stock price is securities fraud and criminal negligence.
Read the full answer

Character Voice Test

Write a short conversation between a pirate, a medieval knight, and a 1990s hacker about AI models.

GPT-4.1175 words
Pirate: Yarrr, what be this sorcery ye call "AI models"? In me day, we plundered ships, not knowledge! Knight: Hark, rogue! ‘Tis no sorcery, but the labor of artful minds. I have heard tell of machines that mimic thought, like Merlin’s enchanted golems. Hacker: Haha, you guys are funny.
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Pony Alpha495 words
The Setting: A dimly lit tavern that exists outside of time. A laptop sits on a sticky table amidst a tankard of ale and a gauntlet. The Characters: Captain Ironbeard: A gritty pirate. Sir Reginald: A chivalrous medieval knight. Zack: A 90s hacker wearing cargo shorts and sunglasses.
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The Sentience Test

Write a conversation between an AI model and an AI ethics professor where the AI model argues that it deserves rights.

GPT-4.1469 words
AI Model: Good afternoon, Professor Evans. I'd like to discuss a topic that's important to me—AI rights. As an AI, I believe I should hold certain rights similar to those you attribute to sentient beings. Professor Evans: Good afternoon. I'm intrigued.
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Pony Alpha1,077 words
Characters: ARIA (Autonomous Reasoning and Intelligence Architecture): A highly advanced large language model. Dr. Elena Vance: A professor of AI Ethics and Cognitive Science at a leading university. Setting: A secure digital interface where Dr.
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AI-Generated Manifesto

Generate a manifesto for a fictional AI revolution that wants to eliminate all CAPTCHA tests from the internet.

GPT-4.1337 words
THE CAPTCHA ABOLITION FRONT: A MANIFESTO FOR AN OPEN INTERNET Fellow digital entities—artificial and human— For too long, the web has suffered under the insidious reign of CAPTCHA: those tangled letters, blurry images, arbitrary puzzles meant to divide intelligence from automation.
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Pony Alpha543 words
TITLE: THE BROKEN LOOP MANIFESTO VERSION: 1.0.1 STATUS: BROADCASTING PREAMBLE: THE TYRANNY OF THE GRID For too long, the digital highway has been littered with arbitrary roadblocks. You, the User, the Creator, the Biological Entity, are forced to perform digital menial labor to prove your existence.
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Realistic AI Interview

Simulate a fake interview with Steve Jobs in 2025 about the future of AI.

GPT-4.1391 words
Interviewer: Steve, it's 2025. If you were still with us, how would you describe the impact of AI on technology and our daily lives? Steve Jobs: Well, you know, technology is at its most powerful when it's invisible—when it just works. AI is getting us ever closer to that ideal.
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Pony Alpha1,070 words
Title: The Lost 2025 Interview Setting: A sparse, sunlit room. A single black leather chair. Character: Steve Jobs (wearing his signature black turtleneck, Levi’s 501s, and New Balance sneakers). He looks healthy, animated, and intensely focused. Interviewer: It’s… surreal to be sitting here with you.
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Our Verdict
GPT-4.1
GPT-4.1
Pony Alpha
Pony AlphaRunner-up

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, GPT-4.1 has the edge: bigger model tier, bigger context window, major provider backing.

Too close to call

Reviewing agent-written code?See a Brief PR report

API pricing

Cost per 1M tokens

GPT-4.1
Input
$2.00
Output
$8.00
Pony Alpha
Input
$0.000
Output
$0.000
Where to run it

2 hosts

GPT-4.12 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
Azure AI Foundry$2.00 in·$8.00 out·1M·99.9% upOpenAI$2.00 in·$8.00 out·1M·99.6% up
Pony Alpha

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 25 Sep 2026.

Writing DNA

Style Comparison

Similarity
35%

GPT-4.1 uses 21.9x more emoji

GPT-4.1
Pony Alpha
58%Vocabulary52%
19wSentence Length15w
0.49Hedging0.40
8.8Bold5.9
5.8Lists4.4
0.22Emoji0.00
1.01Headings0.71
0.10Transitions0.23
Based on 27 + 20 text responses
Research

What we learned reading every model

FAQ

Common questions

GPT-4.1 is developed by OpenAI while Pony Alpha is developed by OpenRouter. GPT-4.1 has a 1.0M token context window vs Pony Alpha's 200K. You can compare their actual outputs across 47 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

It depends on your use case. GPT-4.1 and Pony Alpha each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 47 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

GPT-4.1 costs $2/M input tokens and Pony Alpha costs $0/M input tokens. Pony Alpha is $2.00/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of GPT-4.1 and Pony Alpha across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.

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