Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Grok 3
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 by Anthropic and Grok 3 by xAI are evenly matched across 14 benchmarks. 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, Grok 3 scores 1402 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 1395, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 84.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Grok 3's 74.0%.
Coding: In coding, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 91.0% on HumanEval+ compared to Grok 3's 82.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Grok 3's 42.0%, while Grok 3 scores 79.4% on LiveCodeBench compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 65.0%.
Math: In math, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 88.0% on MATH compared to Grok 3's 82.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 96.0% on GSM8K compared to Grok 3's 93.0%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, Grok 3 scores 84.6% on GPQA Diamond compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 74.1%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 48.0% on ARC-AGI compared to Grok 3's 28.0%.
Context: In context, Grok 3 scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 1.0M.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input tokens and $15.0/1M output tokens, while Grok 3 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output. Both models are priced identically for input tokens.
Speed Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 generates output at 57 tok/s compared to Grok 3's 65 tok/s, and the time to first token is 790 ms for Claude Sonnet 4.6 versus 400 ms for Grok 3. Grok 3 delivers faster throughput.
Verdict
For developers prioritizing coding and math, Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the edge. For those who value general intelligence and speed, Grok 3 is the stronger choice.
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Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Grok 3 — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Grok 3?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Grok 3 are evenly matched across benchmarks. The best choice depends on your specific priorities such as coding ability, speed, or pricing.
How does Claude Sonnet 4.6 compare to Grok 3 for coding?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better for coding, scoring 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 42.0%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 cheaper than Grok 3?
Both models are priced the same at $3.0/1M input tokens. Claude Sonnet 4.6 output costs $15.0/1M and Grok 3 output costs $15.0/1M.
Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Grok 3?
Grok 3 is faster, generating output at 65 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 Grok 3 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.