Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 4
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
Claude Opus 4.6 by Anthropic wins on 11 of 16 benchmarks against Claude Sonnet 4 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 Sonnet 4's 1365, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 82.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 81.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 91.0% on IFEval compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 87.0%.
Coding: In coding, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 93.5% on HumanEval+ compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 88.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 80.8% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 72.7%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 72.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 58.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 70.4% on BFCL compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 70.3%.
Math: In math, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 92.0% on MATH compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 85.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 97.0% on GSM8K compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 94.5%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 91.3% on GPQA Diamond compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 75.4%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 60.0% on ARC-AGI compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 42.0%.
Context: In context, both score 200K on Context Length.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Opus 4.6 costs $5.0/1M input tokens and $25.0/1M output tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output. Claude Sonnet 4 is the more affordable option for API usage.
Speed Comparison
Claude Opus 4.6 generates output at 68 tok/s compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 75 tok/s, and the time to first token is 1680 ms for Claude Opus 4.6 versus 400 ms for Claude Sonnet 4. Claude Sonnet 4 delivers faster throughput.
Verdict
For developers prioritizing coding and general intelligence and math, Claude Opus 4.6 has the edge. For those who value affordability and speed, Claude Sonnet 4 is the stronger choice.
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Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 4 — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Sonnet 4?
Claude Opus 4.6 wins on more benchmarks overall (11 vs 4). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.
How does Claude Opus 4.6 compare to Claude Sonnet 4 for coding?
Claude Opus 4.6 is better for coding, scoring 80.8% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 72.7%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Claude Opus 4.6 cheaper than Claude Sonnet 4?
Yes, Claude Sonnet 4 is cheaper. Claude Opus 4.6 costs $5.0/1M input and $25.0/1M output tokens. Claude Sonnet 4 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Sonnet 4?
Claude Sonnet 4 is faster, generating output at 75 tok/s compared to 68 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.
What benchmarks does the Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 4 comparison cover?
This comparison covers 16 benchmarks including Chatbot Arena ELO, MMLU-Pro, HumanEval+, IFEval, MATH, SWE-bench Verified, GPQA Diamond, Output Speed, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.