Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Claude Opus 4.6

Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.

Claude Opus 4.6 by Anthropic wins on 9 of 14 benchmarks against Claude Haiku 4.5 by Anthropic, which leads on 4. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from the AI Value Index.

Category-by-Category Breakdown

General Intelligence: In general intelligence, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 1496 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to Claude Haiku 4.5's 1220, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 82.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Claude Haiku 4.5's 65.0%.

Coding: In coding, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 93.5% on HumanEval+ compared to Claude Haiku 4.5's 78.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 80.8% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Claude Haiku 4.5's 30.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 72.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to Claude Haiku 4.5's 35.0%.

Math: In math, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 92.0% on MATH compared to Claude Haiku 4.5's 70.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 97.0% on GSM8K compared to Claude Haiku 4.5's 88.0%.

Reasoning: In reasoning, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 91.3% on GPQA Diamond compared to Claude Haiku 4.5's 40.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 60.0% on ARC-AGI compared to Claude Haiku 4.5's 18.0%.

Context: In context, both score 200K on Context Length.

Pricing Comparison

Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $1.0/1M input tokens and $5.0/1M output tokens, while Claude Opus 4.6 costs $5.0/1M input and $25.0/1M output. Claude Haiku 4.5 is the more affordable option for API usage.

Speed Comparison

Claude Haiku 4.5 generates output at 180 tok/s compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 68 tok/s, and the time to first token is 120 ms for Claude Haiku 4.5 versus 1680 ms for Claude Opus 4.6. Claude Haiku 4.5 delivers faster throughput.

Verdict

For developers prioritizing affordability and speed, Claude Haiku 4.5 has the edge. For those who value coding and general intelligence and math, Claude Opus 4.6 is the stronger choice.

Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Claude Opus 4.6 — FAQ

Which is better, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Claude Opus 4.6?

Claude Opus 4.6 wins on more benchmarks overall (9 vs 4). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.

How does Claude Haiku 4.5 compare to Claude Opus 4.6 for coding?

Claude Opus 4.6 is better for coding, scoring 80.8% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 30.0%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.

Is Claude Haiku 4.5 cheaper than Claude Opus 4.6?

Yes, Claude Haiku 4.5 is cheaper. Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $1.0/1M input and $5.0/1M output tokens. Claude Opus 4.6 costs $5.0/1M input and $25.0/1M output tokens.

Which is faster, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Claude Opus 4.6?

Claude Haiku 4.5 is faster, generating output at 180 tok/s compared to 68 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.

What benchmarks does the Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Claude Opus 4.6 comparison cover?

This comparison covers 14 benchmarks including Chatbot Arena ELO, MMLU-Pro, HumanEval+, MATH, SWE-bench Verified, GPQA Diamond, Output Speed, Time to First Token, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.