Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs GPT-5 Mini

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

Claude Sonnet 4.5 by Anthropic wins on 13 of 18 benchmarks against GPT-5 Mini by OpenAI, which leads on 5. 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 Sonnet 4.5 scores 1380 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to GPT-5 Mini's 1300, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 83.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to GPT-5 Mini's 74.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 21.2 on AA Intelligence Index compared to GPT-5 Mini's 17.4.

Coding: In coding, Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 90.0% on HumanEval+ compared to GPT-5 Mini's 85.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 77.2% on SWE-bench Verified compared to GPT-5 Mini's 48.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 62.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to GPT-5 Mini's 55.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 52.1 on AA Coding Index compared to GPT-5 Mini's 15.6.

Math: In math, Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 87.0% on MATH compared to GPT-5 Mini's 82.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 95.5% on GSM8K compared to GPT-5 Mini's 93.0%.

Reasoning: In reasoning, Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 83.4% on GPQA Diamond compared to GPT-5 Mini's 55.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 45.0% on ARC-AGI compared to GPT-5 Mini's 30.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 17.5 on AA Agentic Index compared to GPT-5 Mini's 8.9.

Context: In context, Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to GPT-5 Mini's 400K.

Pricing Comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3.0/1M input tokens and $15.0/1M output tokens, while GPT-5 Mini costs $0.25/1M input and $2.0/1M output. GPT-5 Mini is the more affordable option for API usage.

Speed Comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.5 generates output at 67 tok/s compared to GPT-5 Mini's 180 tok/s, and the time to first token is 1170 ms for Claude Sonnet 4.5 versus 150 ms for GPT-5 Mini. GPT-5 Mini delivers faster throughput.

Verdict

For developers prioritizing coding and general intelligence and math, Claude Sonnet 4.5 has the edge. For those who value affordability and speed, GPT-5 Mini is the stronger choice.

Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs GPT-5 Mini — FAQ

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or GPT-5 Mini?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 wins on more benchmarks overall (13 vs 5). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.

How does Claude Sonnet 4.5 compare to GPT-5 Mini for coding?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is better for coding, scoring 77.2% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 48.0%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.

Is Claude Sonnet 4.5 cheaper than GPT-5 Mini?

Yes, GPT-5 Mini is cheaper. Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output tokens. GPT-5 Mini costs $0.25/1M input and $2.0/1M output tokens.

Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or GPT-5 Mini?

GPT-5 Mini is faster, generating output at 180 tok/s compared to 67 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.

What benchmarks does the Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs GPT-5 Mini comparison cover?

This comparison covers 18 benchmarks including Chatbot Arena ELO, MMLU-Pro, HumanEval+, MATH, GPQA Diamond, SWE-bench Verified, Output Speed, LiveCodeBench, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.