Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-5 Mini
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 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 4.6 scores 1395 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to GPT-5 Mini's 1300, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 84.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to GPT-5 Mini's 74.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 30.5 on AA Intelligence Index compared to GPT-5 Mini's 17.4.
Coding: In coding, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 91.0% on HumanEval+ compared to GPT-5 Mini's 85.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to GPT-5 Mini's 48.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 65.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to GPT-5 Mini's 55.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 63 on AA Coding Index compared to GPT-5 Mini's 15.6.
Math: In math, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 88.0% on MATH compared to GPT-5 Mini's 82.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 96.0% on GSM8K compared to GPT-5 Mini's 93.0%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 74.1% on GPQA Diamond compared to GPT-5 Mini's 55.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 48.0% on ARC-AGI compared to GPT-5 Mini's 30.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 33.1 on AA Agentic Index compared to GPT-5 Mini's 8.9.
Context: In context, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to GPT-5 Mini's 400K.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 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 4.6 generates output at 57 tok/s compared to GPT-5 Mini's 180 tok/s, and the time to first token is 790 ms for Claude Sonnet 4.6 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 4.6 has the edge. For those who value affordability and speed, GPT-5 Mini is the stronger choice.
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Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-5 Mini — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or GPT-5 Mini?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 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 4.6 compare to GPT-5 Mini for coding?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better for coding, scoring 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 48.0%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 cheaper than GPT-5 Mini?
Yes, GPT-5 Mini is cheaper. Claude Sonnet 4.6 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 4.6 or GPT-5 Mini?
GPT-5 Mini is faster, generating output at 180 tok/s compared to 57 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.
What benchmarks does the Claude Sonnet 4.6 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.