ChatGPT vs Meta AI: Which Chatbot Comes Out on Top After Llama 4 Launch?
With the recent launch of Meta’s Llama 4 Maverick and Llama 4 Scout, the race between AI chatbots has heated up once again.
Derar Hadri 
With the recent launch of Meta’s Llama 4 Maverick and Llama 4 Scout, the race between AI chatbots has heated up once again. Meta’s latest models bring notable improvements, but how do they stack up against OpenAI’s ChatGPT, especially with GPT-4o's latest features such as Deep Research mode and advanced image generation?
Here’s a comprehensive comparison of the two AI giants and what users can expect from each.
Benchmarks and Performance
Meta claims that Llama 4 Maverick outperforms OpenAI’s GPT-4o and GPT-4.5 Preview across multiple benchmarks, including coding, multilingual capabilities, long-context understanding, and image tasks. According to LMarena’s leaderboard, Llama 4 Maverick currently ranks #2, just behind Gemini 2.5 Pro (Experimental). While impressive, benchmark results are dynamic and often change with updates and new model releases. Despite Meta's claims of superior creative writing and precise multimodal response, long-term user comparisons remain the best way to truly assess performance.
Image Generation Capabilities
ChatGPT currently leads in image generation, especially with its ability to generate photorealistic, context-aware visuals and even edit uploaded images in different styles. These features have sparked viral trends, such as Studio Ghibli-style art.
While Meta also promotes Llama 4 as natively multimodal, its image generation capabilities are currently limited to the U.S. and English-language queries, with no clear timeline for global rollout. In user tests, Meta’s current image output significantly underperformed compared to ChatGPT.
Reasoning and Advanced Features
ChatGPT holds a notable advantage due to its reasoning model capabilities, enabling more nuanced answers in complex fields like math, science, and programming. OpenAI’s newer models, such as o1 and o3-Mini, replicate human-like thinking for deeper analysis. In contrast, Meta has not yet released a dedicated reasoning model, although a new version, likely Llama 4 Reasoning, is expected to be revealed at LlamaCon on April 29.
Moreover, OpenAI’s Deep Research mode allows ChatGPT to conduct real-time, web-based research, mimicking the functionality of a human research assistant. This sets it apart from most current AI models and aligns it with platforms like Perplexity AI, Grok, and Gemini.
Accessibility and Pricing
When it comes to availability, Meta's Llama 4 Maverick offers users free and unlimited access via widely used platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger, making it incredibly user-friendly.
In contrast, OpenAI’s ChatGPT often restricts access to the most advanced models after a few prompts, reverting free users to older models. Additionally, free users are currently limited to three image generations per day and must create an account to use the chatbot.
Looking ahead, Meta is preparing to launch Llama 4 Behemoth, which is expected to rival GPT-4.5, Claude Sonnet 3.7, and Gemini 2.0 Pro, especially in STEM-focused benchmarks such as MATH-500 and GPQA Diamond.
Conclusion
While Meta’s Llama 4 Maverick is a significant leap forward and shines in accessibility and potential benchmark wins, ChatGPT still leads in terms of reasoning abilities, image generation, and research tools. For users seeking a powerful free tool across messaging apps, Meta AI is a solid option. However, for those needing depth, precision, and creativity, ChatGPT remains the more advanced AI assistant—at least for now.
