Claude 3 Haiku vs Grok-4.1 Thinking
Grok-4.1 Thinking leads the LLM Stats Score 16.1 to -1.4. Claude 3 Haiku is 12.0x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · xAI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Grok-4.1 Thinking leads the overall LLM Stats Score 16.1 to -1.4, ranking #223 overall.
On price, Claude 3 Haiku is roughly 12.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Grok-4.1 Thinking also accepts a larger context window (256,000 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 Haiku
- cost matters — it's about 12.0x cheaper per token
Choose Grok-4.1 Thinking
- overall performance matters — it scores 16.1 and ranks #223 on LLM Stats
- you process long inputs — it offers a 256,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2025
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Individual benchmarks
10 reported for Claude 3 Haiku · 11 for Grok-4.1 Thinking
Claude 3 Haiku and Grok-4.1 Thinkingdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude 3 Haiku ($0.25/1M tokens) is 12.0x cheaper than Grok-4.1 Thinking ($3.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude 3 Haiku ($1.25/1M tokens) is 12.0x cheaper than Grok-4.1 Thinking ($15.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Grok-4.1 Thinking is more expensive than Claude 3 Haiku.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Grok-4.1 Thinking accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to Claude 3 Haiku's 200,000 tokens. Claude 3 Haiku can generate longer responses up to 200,000 tokens, while Grok-4.1 Thinking is limited to 8,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Claude 3 Haiku and Grok-4.1 Thinking support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude 3 Haiku
Grok-4.1 Thinking
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 Haiku was released on 2024-03-13, while Grok-4.1 Thinking was released on 2025-11-17.
Grok-4.1 Thinking is 20 months newer than Claude 3 Haiku.
Mar 13, 2024
2.5 years ago
Nov 17, 2025
9 months ago
1.7yr 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 Haiku is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. Grok-4.1 Thinking is available from xAI.
Claude 3 Haiku
Grok-4.1 Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude 3 Haiku and Grok-4.1 Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude 3 Haiku vs Grok-4.1 Thinking.