Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Claude Opus 4.6
Claude Opus 4.6 leads the LLM Stats Score 44.9 to 19.1. Claude 3.5 Sonnet is 1.7x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · Anthropic · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Claude Opus 4.6 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 44.9 to 19.1, ranking #34 overall.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Claude Opus 4.6 wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Claude 3.5 Sonnet is roughly 1.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Claude Opus 4.6 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude 3.5 Sonnet
- cost matters — it's about 1.7x cheaper per token
Choose Claude Opus 4.6
- overall performance matters — it scores 44.9 and ranks #34 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
19 reported for Claude 3.5 Sonnet · 27 for Claude Opus 4.6
Claude 3.5 Sonnet outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Claude Opus 4.6 is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, SWE-Bench Verified).
Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude 3.5 Sonnet ($3.00/1M tokens) is 1.7x cheaper than Claude Opus 4.6 ($5.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude 3.5 Sonnet ($15.00/1M tokens) is 1.7x cheaper than Claude Opus 4.6 ($25.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.6 is more expensive than Claude 3.5 Sonnet.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Claude Opus 4.6 accepts 1,000,000 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 Claude Opus 4.6 is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Claude Opus 4.6 support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Claude Opus 4.6
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
Claude 3.5 Sonnet was released on 2024-10-22, while Claude Opus 4.6 was released on 2026-02-05.
Claude Opus 4.6 is 16 months newer than Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
Oct 22, 2024
1.9 years ago
Feb 5, 2026
7 months ago
1.3yr newerKnowledge 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 Opus 4.6 is available from Anthropic.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Claude Opus 4.6
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Claude Opus 4.6 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Claude Opus 4.6.