Claude Opus 4 vs Claude Sonnet 4
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
Claude Opus 4 by Anthropic wins on 11 of 18 benchmarks against Claude Sonnet 4 by Anthropic, which leads on 7. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from our benchmark data.
Category-by-Category Breakdown
General Intelligence: In general intelligence, Claude Opus 4 scores 1375 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 1365, while Claude Opus 4 scores 83.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 81.0%, while Claude Opus 4 scores 88.0% on IFEval compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 87.0%.
Coding: In coding, Claude Opus 4 scores 90.0% on HumanEval+ compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 88.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4 scores 72.7% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Claude Opus 4's 72.5%, while Claude Opus 4 scores 60.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 58.0%, while Claude Opus 4 scores 1171 on Design Arena ELO compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 1145, while Claude Opus 4 scores 1177 on Website Arena ELO compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 1151.
Math: In math, Claude Opus 4 scores 86.0% on MATH compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 85.0%, while Claude Opus 4 scores 95.0% on GSM8K compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 94.5%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, Claude Opus 4 scores 79.6% on GPQA Diamond compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 76.7%, while Claude Opus 4 scores 45.0% on ARC-AGI compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 42.0%.
Context: In context, Claude Sonnet 4 scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to Claude Opus 4's 200K.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Opus 4 costs $15.0/1M input tokens and $75.0/1M 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 generates output at 50 tok/s compared to Claude Sonnet 4's 75 tok/s, and the time to first token is 550 ms for Claude Opus 4 versus 400 ms for Claude Sonnet 4. Claude Sonnet 4 delivers faster throughput.
Verdict
For developers prioritizing general intelligence and math, Claude Opus 4 has the edge. For those who value coding and affordability and speed, Claude Sonnet 4 is the stronger choice.
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Claude Opus 4 vs Claude Sonnet 4 — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Opus 4 or Claude Sonnet 4?
Claude Opus 4 wins on more benchmarks overall (11 vs 7). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.
How does Claude Opus 4 compare to Claude Sonnet 4 for coding?
Claude Sonnet 4 is better for coding, scoring 72.7% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 72.5%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Claude Opus 4 cheaper than Claude Sonnet 4?
Yes, Claude Sonnet 4 is cheaper. Claude Opus 4 costs $15.0/1M input and $75.0/1M output tokens. Claude Sonnet 4 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Claude Opus 4 or Claude Sonnet 4?
Claude Sonnet 4 is faster, generating output at 75 tok/s compared to 50 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.
What benchmarks does the Claude Opus 4 vs Claude Sonnet 4 comparison cover?
This comparison covers 18 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.