Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Nova Lite
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 by Anthropic wins on 10 of 14 benchmarks against Nova Lite by Amazon, 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 4.6 scores 1395 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to Nova Lite's 1110, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 84.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Nova Lite's 45.0%.
Coding: In coding, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 91.0% on HumanEval+ compared to Nova Lite's 55.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Nova Lite's 10.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 65.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to Nova Lite's 14.0%.
Math: In math, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 88.0% on MATH compared to Nova Lite's 40.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 96.0% on GSM8K compared to Nova Lite's 68.0%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 74.1% on GPQA Diamond compared to Nova Lite's 20.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 48.0% on ARC-AGI compared to Nova Lite's 3.0%.
Context: In context, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to Nova Lite's 300K.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input tokens and $15.0/1M output tokens, while Nova Lite costs $0.06/1M input and $0.24/1M output. Nova Lite is the more affordable option for API usage.
Speed Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 generates output at 57 tok/s compared to Nova Lite's 150 tok/s, and the time to first token is 790 ms for Claude Sonnet 4.6 versus 150 ms for Nova Lite. Nova Lite 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, Nova Lite is the stronger choice.
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Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Nova Lite — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Nova Lite?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 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 4.6 compare to Nova Lite for coding?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better for coding, scoring 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 10.0%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 cheaper than Nova Lite?
Yes, Nova Lite is cheaper. Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output tokens. Nova Lite costs $0.06/1M input and $0.24/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Nova Lite?
Nova Lite is faster, generating output at 150 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 Nova Lite 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.