Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs o3
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
o3 by OpenAI wins on 8 of 15 benchmarks against Claude Sonnet 4.6 by Anthropic, which leads on 5. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from the AI Value Index.
Category-by-Category Breakdown
General Intelligence: In general intelligence, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1395 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to o3's 1380, while both score 84.0% on MMLU-Pro, while o3 scores 92.0% on IFEval compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 89.0%.
Coding: In coding, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 91.0% on HumanEval+ compared to o3's 90.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to o3's 69.1%, while o3 scores 70.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 65.0%.
Math: In math, o3 scores 96.0% on MATH compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 88.0%, while o3 scores 98.5% on GSM8K compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 96.0%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, o3 scores 83.3% on GPQA Diamond compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 74.1%, while o3 scores 75.7% on ARC-AGI compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 48.0%.
Context: In context, both score 200K on Context Length.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input tokens and $15.0/1M output tokens, while o3 costs $2.0/1M input and $8.0/1M output. o3 is the more affordable option for API usage.
Speed Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 generates output at 57 tok/s compared to o3's 40 tok/s, and the time to first token is 790 ms for Claude Sonnet 4.6 versus 800 ms for o3. Claude Sonnet 4.6 delivers faster throughput.
Verdict
For developers prioritizing coding and general intelligence and speed, Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the edge. For those who value math and affordability, o3 is the stronger choice.
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Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs o3 — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or o3?
o3 wins on more benchmarks overall (8 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 o3 for coding?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better for coding, scoring 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 69.1%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 cheaper than o3?
Yes, o3 is cheaper. Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output tokens. o3 costs $2.0/1M input and $8.0/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or o3?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is faster, generating output at 57 tok/s compared to 40 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.
What benchmarks does the Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs o3 comparison cover?
This comparison covers 15 benchmarks including Chatbot Arena ELO, MMLU-Pro, HumanEval+, IFEval, MATH, SWE-bench Verified, GPQA Diamond, Output Speed, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.