Model Comparison
Claude 3 Opus vs Claude 3 SonnetWhich is better in 2026?
Claude 3 Opus significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude 3 Sonnet is 5.0x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Claude 3 Opus vs Claude 3 Sonnet — which is better?
Claude 3 Opus (by Anthropic) and Claude 3 Sonnet (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 Opus outperforms in 11 benchmarks (ARC-C, BIG-Bench Hard, DROP, GPQA, GSM8k, HellaSwag, HumanEval, MATH, MGSM, MMLU, MMLU-Pro), while Claude 3 Sonnet is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude 3 Opus significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Claude 3 Sonnet is roughly 5.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Choose Claude 3 Opus if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 11 of 11 shared benchmarks
Choose Claude 3 Sonnet if…
- cost matters — it's about 5.0x cheaper per token
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude 3 Opus outperforms in 11 benchmarks (ARC-C, BIG-Bench Hard, DROP, GPQA, GSM8k, HellaSwag, HumanEval, MATH, MGSM, MMLU, MMLU-Pro), while Claude 3 Sonnet is better at 0 benchmarks.
Claude 3 Opus significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude 3 Opus ($15.00/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Claude 3 Sonnet ($3.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude 3 Opus ($75.00/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Claude 3 Sonnet ($15.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude 3 Opus is more expensive than Claude 3 Sonnet.*
* 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
Both Claude 3 Opus and Claude 3 Sonnet support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude 3 Opus
Claude 3 Sonnet
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 2024-02-29.
They likely represent similar generations of model development.
Feb 29, 2024
2.3 years ago
Feb 29, 2024
2.3 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 Opus is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. Claude 3 Sonnet is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google.
Claude 3 Opus
Claude 3 Sonnet
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude 3 Opus
View detailsAnthropic
Claude 3 Sonnet
View detailsAnthropic
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude 3 Opus and Claude 3 Sonnet side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
| Feature | | |
|---|
FAQ
Common questions about Claude 3 Opus vs Claude 3 Sonnet.