Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Grok 3 Mini
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
Claude Sonnet 4.5 by Anthropic wins on 10 of 14 benchmarks against Grok 3 Mini by xAI, which leads on 4. 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 Grok 3 Mini's 1260, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 83.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Grok 3 Mini's 68.0%.
Coding: In coding, Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 90.0% on HumanEval+ compared to Grok 3 Mini's 78.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 77.2% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Grok 3 Mini's 30.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 62.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to Grok 3 Mini's 35.0%.
Math: In math, Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 87.0% on MATH compared to Grok 3 Mini's 72.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 95.5% on GSM8K compared to Grok 3 Mini's 88.0%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 83.4% on GPQA Diamond compared to Grok 3 Mini's 42.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 45.0% on ARC-AGI compared to Grok 3 Mini's 20.0%.
Context: In context, Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to Grok 3 Mini's 131K.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3.0/1M input tokens and $15.0/1M output tokens, while Grok 3 Mini costs $0.30/1M input and $0.50/1M output. Grok 3 Mini is the more affordable option for API usage.
Speed Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.5 generates output at 67 tok/s compared to Grok 3 Mini's 130 tok/s, and the time to first token is 1170 ms for Claude Sonnet 4.5 versus 160 ms for Grok 3 Mini. Grok 3 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, Grok 3 Mini is the stronger choice.
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Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Grok 3 Mini — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Grok 3 Mini?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 wins on more benchmarks overall (10 vs 4). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.
How does Claude Sonnet 4.5 compare to Grok 3 Mini for coding?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 is better for coding, scoring 77.2% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 30.0%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Claude Sonnet 4.5 cheaper than Grok 3 Mini?
Yes, Grok 3 Mini is cheaper. Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output tokens. Grok 3 Mini costs $0.30/1M input and $0.50/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Grok 3 Mini?
Grok 3 Mini is faster, generating output at 130 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 Grok 3 Mini comparison cover?
This comparison covers 14 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.