Model Comparison
Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Claude 3.5 HaikuWhich is better in 2026?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude 3.5 Haiku is 3.8x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Claude 3.5 Haiku — which is better?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet (by Anthropic) and Claude 3.5 Haiku (by Anthropic) 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.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet outperforms in 9 benchmarks (DROP, GPQA, HumanEval, MATH, MGSM, MMLU-Pro, SWE-Bench Verified, TAU-bench Airline, TAU-bench Retail), while Claude 3.5 Haiku is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude 3.5 Sonnet significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Claude 3.5 Haiku is roughly 3.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Choose Claude 3.5 Sonnet if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 9 of 9 shared benchmarks
Choose Claude 3.5 Haiku if…
- cost matters — it's about 3.8x cheaper per token
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude 3.5 Sonnet outperforms in 9 benchmarks (DROP, GPQA, HumanEval, MATH, MGSM, MMLU-Pro, SWE-Bench Verified, TAU-bench Airline, TAU-bench Retail), while Claude 3.5 Haiku is better at 0 benchmarks.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude 3.5 Sonnet ($3.00/1M tokens) is 3.8x more expensive than Claude 3.5 Haiku ($0.80/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude 3.5 Sonnet ($15.00/1M tokens) is 3.8x more expensive than Claude 3.5 Haiku ($4.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude 3.5 Sonnet is more expensive than Claude 3.5 Haiku.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 200,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 200,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Claude 3.5 Sonnet supports multimodal inputs, whereas Claude 3.5 Haiku does not.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Claude 3.5 Haiku
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.
Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.
Proprietary
Closed source
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Both models were released on 2024-10-22.
They likely represent similar generations of model development.
Oct 22, 2024
1.7 years ago
Oct 22, 2024
1.7 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. Claude 3.5 Haiku is available from Bedrock, Google, Anthropic.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Claude 3.5 Haiku
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
View detailsAnthropic
Claude 3.5 Haiku
View detailsAnthropic
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Claude 3.5 Haiku side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Claude 3.5 Haiku.