Claude Opus 4.6 vs o3
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
o3 by OpenAI wins on 8 of 16 benchmarks against Claude Opus 4.6 by Anthropic, which leads on 7. 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 o3's 1380, while o3 scores 84.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 82.0%, while o3 scores 92.0% on IFEval compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 91.0%.
Coding: In coding, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 93.5% on HumanEval+ compared to o3's 90.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 80.8% on SWE-bench Verified compared to o3's 69.1%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 72.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to o3's 70.0%.
Math: In math, o3 scores 96.0% on MATH compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 92.0%, while o3 scores 98.5% on GSM8K compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 97.0%, while Claude Opus 4.6 scores 100.0% on AIME 2025 compared to o3's 98.4%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 91.3% on GPQA Diamond compared to o3's 83.3%, while o3 scores 75.7% on ARC-AGI compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 60.0%.
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 o3 costs $2.0/1M input and $8.0/1M output. o3 is the more affordable option for API usage.
Speed Comparison
Claude Opus 4.6 generates output at 68 tok/s compared to o3's 40 tok/s, and the time to first token is 1680 ms for Claude Opus 4.6 versus 800 ms for o3. Claude Opus 4.6 delivers faster throughput.
Verdict
For developers prioritizing coding and general intelligence and speed, Claude Opus 4.6 has the edge. For those who value math and affordability, o3 is the stronger choice.
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Claude Opus 4.6 vs o3 — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Opus 4.6 or o3?
o3 wins on more benchmarks overall (8 vs 7). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.
How does Claude Opus 4.6 compare to o3 for coding?
Claude Opus 4.6 is better for coding, scoring 80.8% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 69.1%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Claude Opus 4.6 cheaper than o3?
Yes, o3 is cheaper. Claude Opus 4.6 costs $5.0/1M input and $25.0/1M output tokens. o3 costs $2.0/1M input and $8.0/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Claude Opus 4.6 or o3?
Claude Opus 4.6 is faster, generating output at 68 tok/s compared to 40 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.
What benchmarks does the Claude Opus 4.6 vs o3 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.