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Head-to-head comparison

Llama 4 Maverick vs gpt-oss-20b

Llama 4 Maverick (Meta) and gpt-oss-20b (OpenAI) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 9 September 2026

As of 9 September 2026, Llama 4 Maverick holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#134 vs #135); gpt-oss-20b is 5.4× cheaper per output token ($0.13/1M vs $0.696/1M); Llama 4 Maverick offers the longer context window (1M vs 131K tokens); and gpt-oss-20b ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Llama 4 Maverick if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #134 against #135 (29.1 vs 27.9 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 131K.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1373 against 1369.
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 9.3 against 9.0.

Choose gpt-oss-20b if…

  • API cost matters — $0.13/1M output tokens against $0.696/1M, about 5.4× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.03/1M against $0.20/1M.
  • you want to self-host: gpt-oss-20b ships open weights while Llama 4 Maverick is gated access.
  • you want provider choice — 12 listed API providers against 5.
  • AA Terminal-Bench 2.1 is your yardstick — 13.9% against 7.9%.
  • AA τ²-Bench Telecom is your yardstick — 60.2% against 17.8%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 11.0% against 4.9%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — gpt-oss-20b was listed 5 August 2025, Llama 4 Maverick 5 April 2025.

Llama 4 Maverick vs gpt-oss-20b: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Llama 4 Maverick and gpt-oss-20b
FieldLlama 4 MaverickMetagpt-oss-20bOpenAI
ModelCap Index position#134#135
Index score29.127.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.20$0.03
Output price / 1M tokens$0.696$0.13
Context window1M tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens115K118K
API providers listed512
Weight accessGated accessOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, ImageText
First listed5 April 20255 August 2025
PublisherMetaOpenAI

Evidence: 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards · 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Llama 4 Maverick vs gpt-oss-20b

Public benchmark boards where Llama 4 Maverick or gpt-oss-20b has a published result
BoardLlama 4 Maverickgpt-oss-20bLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13731365–138013691356–1382Llama 4 Maverick
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation0.0%—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis9.3intelligence-index:v4.3:non-reasoning9.0intelligence-index:v4.3:highLlama 4 Maverick
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis7.9%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Llama 4 Maverick":reasoning=false13.9%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="gpt-oss-20b (high)":reasoning=truegpt-oss-20b
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis17.8%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Llama 4 Maverick":reasoning=false60.2%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="gpt-oss-20b (high)":reasoning=truegpt-oss-20b
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis4.9%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Llama 4 Maverick":reasoning=false11.0%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="gpt-oss-20b (high)":reasoning=truegpt-oss-20b

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Llama 4 Maverick vs gpt-oss-20b: common questions

Is Llama 4 Maverick better than gpt-oss-20b?

Llama 4 Maverick ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 9 September 2026: #134 against #135. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it. Their published uncertainty intervals overlap, so the rank difference alone does not establish a reliable capability advantage for your workload.

Is Llama 4 Maverick cheaper than gpt-oss-20b?

gpt-oss-20b is cheaper on output tokens: $0.13/1M against $0.696/1M. Input tokens are $0.20/1M for Llama 4 Maverick and $0.03/1M for gpt-oss-20b. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $0.75 for Llama 4 Maverick versus $0.13 for gpt-oss-20b. gpt-oss-20b costs 83.3% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, Llama 4 Maverick or gpt-oss-20b?

Llama 4 Maverick has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, Llama 4 Maverick or gpt-oss-20b?

Arena coding: Llama 4 Maverick 1373, gpt-oss-20b 1369 — Llama 4 Maverick leads. AA Terminal-Bench 2.1: Llama 4 Maverick 7.9%, gpt-oss-20b 13.9% — gpt-oss-20b leads.

Are Llama 4 Maverick and gpt-oss-20b open-weight models?

Llama 4 Maverick: Gated access. gpt-oss-20b: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Llama 4 Maverick and gpt-oss-20b?

ModelCap currently lists 5 API providers for Llama 4 Maverick and 12 for gpt-oss-20b, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Llama 4 Maverick vs gpt-oss-20b comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 9 September 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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