Model Comparison

Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Grok-4.1 Fast ReasoningWhich is better in 2026?

Comparing Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning — which is better?

Claude 3.5 Sonnet (by Anthropic) and Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning (by xAI) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

On price, Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning is roughly 21.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning also accepts a larger context window (2,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude 3.5 Sonnet if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output

Choose Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning if…

  • cost matters — it's about 21.8x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 2,000,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2025

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning don't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning costs less

For input processing, Claude 3.5 Sonnet ($3.00/1M tokens) is 15.0x more expensive than Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning ($0.20/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude 3.5 Sonnet ($15.00/1M tokens) is 30.0x more expensive than Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning ($0.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude 3.5 Sonnet is more expensive than Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Jun 08 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAWS Bedrock
xAI
Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning
Input tokens$0.20
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerxAI
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning accepts 2,000,000 input tokens compared to Claude 3.5 Sonnet's 200,000 tokens. Claude 3.5 Sonnet can generate longer responses up to 200,000 tokens, while Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning is limited to 30,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Input200,000 tokens
Output200,000 tokens
xAI
Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning
Input2,000,000 tokens
Output30,000 tokens
Mon Jun 08 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.

Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Proprietary

Closed source

Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude 3.5 Sonnet was released on 2024-06-21, while Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning was released on 2025-11-17.

Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning is 17 months newer than Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Jun 21, 2024

2.0 years ago

Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning

Nov 17, 2025

6 months ago

1.4yr newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Claude 3.5 Sonnet is available from Bedrock, Google. Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning is available from xAI.

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M
google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion

Key Takeaways

No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.

Larger context window (2,000,000 tokens)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
AnthropicClaude 3.5 Sonnet
xAIGrok-4.1 Fast Reasoning

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
xAI
Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning

FAQ

Common questions about Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning.

Which is better, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning?

Claude 3.5 Sonnet (Anthropic) and Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning (xAI) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does Claude 3.5 Sonnet compare to Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning in benchmarks?

Claude 3.5 Sonnet scores GSM8k: 96.4%, BIG-Bench Hard: 93.1%, HumanEval: 92.0%, MGSM: 91.6%, MMLU: 90.4%.

Is Claude 3.5 Sonnet cheaper than Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning?

Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning is 15.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude 3.5 Sonnet costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via bedrock. Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning costs $0.20/M input and $0.50/M output via xai.

What are the context window sizes for Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning?

Claude 3.5 Sonnet supports 200K tokens and Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning supports 2.0M tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning?

Key differences include context window (200K vs 2.0M), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.20/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning?

Claude 3.5 Sonnet is developed by Anthropic and Grok-4.1 Fast Reasoning is developed by xAI.