Each generation of OpenAI’s models comes with its own writing personality.
But how does the model actually write behind just raw benchmarks?
In this article, we’ll break down the best ChatGPT models for writing—GPT-4.5, GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, GPT-5, and o3
1. GPT-5.1 Instant
GPT-5.1 Instant is the warmer, more intelligent, and better at following your instructions version than GPT5.
Leaderboard & benchmark
GPT-5,1 labeled as polaris-alpha is the top creative-writing model on EQ-Bench’s creative benchmarks (Creative Writing v3 / longform).
Style analysis
- GPT-5,1 is warmer by default and more conversational,” and it show a more relaxed, human tone
- It also follows instructions more reliably—for example, correctly staying within a “respond in six words” constraint where GPT-5 itself drifted.
- GPT-5.1 has now personality presets (Professional, Friendly, Candid, Quirky, Efficient, Nerdy, Cynical, etc.), giving you more control over its tone without prompt acrobatics.
Pricing
On the API side, GPT-5.1 (which backs Instant in the backend) uses the same token pricing as GPT-5:
- Input: $1.25 per 1M tokens
- Cached input: $0.125 per 1M tokens (about 90% cheaper)
- Output: $10 per 1M tokens
Of course all the models mentioned here are included in ChatGPT plans :
- ChatGPT Plus is typically around $20/month in major markets.
- ChatGPT Pro (around $200/month or ~220 €/month) is aimed at heavy and professional users.
2. GPT-4.5
GPT-4.5 is a OpenAI’s research-preview model that was aimed at natural, intuitive chat and strong writing help.
Leaderboard & benchmark
- In the Creative Writing category on Chatbot Arena, GPT-4.5 sits in the very top tier, generally ranking above GPT-5-chat and most GPT-4.x models
- A lot of community commentary frames GPT-4.5 as one of the strongest proprietary models for creative writing, often preferred over GPT-4o when you want richer prose.
Style analysis
GPT-4.5 is the most “human-sounding” of the GPT models on release. OpenAI attributes this to scaled pre-training plus newer supervision methods, which produced higher “EQ” (it picks up on subtle cues, offers warmer, more concise replies, and avoids over-lecturing).
Pricing
- GPT-4.5 has a very premium pricing. Not long ago OpenAI deprecated the
gpt-4.5-previewAPI model and pointed developers to GPT-4.1 as the replacement.
3. GPT-5.1 Thinking
GPT-5.1 Thinking is the upgraded advanced reasoning model, and it’s really good for factual & constrained creative writing.
Key characteristics that matter to you:
- It adapts its thinking time per question: on simple tasks it responds much faster than GPT-5 Thinking; on complex tasks it deliberately spends more time and tokens.
- On a representative set of ChatGPT tasks, it’s about 2× faster on the easiest prompts and 2× slower on the hardest ones at the same reasoning setting—essentially trading speed for quality when it matters.
- Its explanations are clearer, with less jargon and fewer undefined terms, making big-brain answers less opaque.
Leaderboard & benchmark
GPT-5,1 labeled as polaris-alpha is the top creative-writing model on EQ-Bench’s creative benchmarks (Creative Writing v3 / longform).
Style analysis
- Writes more approachable explanations
- Uses warmer, more empathetic language by default—e.g., when responding to someone who spilled coffee before a meeting, it actively reframes the situation and coaches the user through the emotion instead of just explaining psychology.
- Extract and summarize very effectively hundred of factual sources.
Pricing
Because GPT-5.1 Thinking uses the same model family, its API pricing matches GPT-5.1:
- Input: $1.25 per 1M tokens
- Cached input: $0.125 per 1M tokens
- Output: $10 per 1M tokens
4. GPT-4o
GPT-4o (“omni”) is one of the most relatable and personality-rich ChatGPT model.
Leaderboard & benchmark
ChatBot Arena consistently places GPT-4o in the top creative-writing pack. GPT-5’s creative-writing rank is quoted even below GPT-4o.
Style analysis
You’ll notice GPT-4o’s tone is concise, cooperative, and less “lectury” than older models. In practice, that helps you fix robotic phrasing, cut fluff, and keep brand voice intact during rewrites. Compared with strictly “reasoning-first” models, GPT-4o tends to produce smoother surface quality with fewer visible step-by-step scaffolds, which is useful when you want copy that’s ready to paste into your CMS with minimal sanding.
Pricing
For API use, gpt-4o is priced at $2.50 per 1M input tokens and $10.00 per 1M output tokens, which is dramatically cheaper than legacy GPT-4 while delivering comparable (and often better) practical results for writing. If you need even lower costs for bulk rewriting, gpt-4o-mini is $0.15 per 1M input and $0.60 per 1M output, and it was explicitly launched as a cost-efficient choice for high-volume workloads.
5. GPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 is a mix between GPT-4o and GPT4,5 with strong instruction following.
Leaderboard & benchmark
GPT-4.1’s Chatbot Arena Creative Writing rank below GPT-4.5, GPT-4o, GPT-5,1.
Style analysis
GPT-4.1 tends to obey precise briefs (tone, do/don’t lists, formatting) and retain context across long documents. That reduces the “robotic drift” you see when a model forgets earlier constraints in a 2,000–5,000-word rewrite.
Pricing
OpenAI’s 4.1 family is approximately at $2.00 input / $8.00 output for gpt-4.1, with prompt caching discounted (cached input ~$0.50/M). gpt-4.1-mini drops costs further (~$0.40 input / $1.60 output), and 4.1-nano is even cheaper for ultra-low-latency use.
6. GPT-5
GPT-5 is OpenAI’s 2025 flagship model that has shown particulary inconsistent performance in writing (good in factual, less in fiction & creative.
Leaderboard & benchmark
GPT-5’s creative-writing rank is quoted as #9, “below GPT-4o and GPT-4.5” in that category,
Style analysis
On Chatbot Arena, GPT-5-high sits quite high with GPT-4o and o3 (#4 in Text), while GPT-5-chat lands around #10. It’s way lower on creative writing though.
Pricing
OpenAI’s lists GPT-5 at $1.25 per 1M input tokens (cached input $0.125/M) and $10.00 per 1M output tokens. GPT-5-mini is markedly cheaper ($0.25/M input, $2.00/M output), and GPT-5-nano is cheaper still for high-volume, simple transforms.
7. o3
o3 is OpenAI’s last reasoning model. It was especially good at prompt adherence (maybe sometimes too much)
Leaderboard & benchmark
o3 is behind most Chatgpt models and frontier models (Gemini 2.5 Pro, Kimi K2) in the Chatbot Creative Writing ranking.
Style analysis
o3 is deliberate: it follows constraints, respects structure, and keeps track of earlier instructions across long prompts. That helps when you ask for surgical edits (rewrite only H2–H3s, preserve claims, maintain internal links). However, compared with GPT-4o/4.1/5, o3 may feel a touch less “chatty” on surface polish.
Pricing
OpenAI lists o3-mini at $1.10 per 1M input tokens and $4.40 per 1M output tokens (model page / playground references).
