Model Comparison

Claude 3 Sonnet vs Grok-3 MiniWhich is better in 2026?

Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-3 Mini is 17.1x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude 3 Sonnet vs Grok-3 Mini — which is better?

Claude 3 Sonnet (by Anthropic) and Grok-3 Mini (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.

Claude 3 Sonnet outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-3 Mini is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA). Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Grok-3 Mini is roughly 17.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Claude 3 Sonnet also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude 3 Sonnet if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window

Choose Grok-3 Mini if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • cost matters — it's about 17.1x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2025

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Claude 3 Sonnet outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-3 Mini is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).

Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jun 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Grok-3 Mini costs less

For input processing, Claude 3 Sonnet ($3.00/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than Grok-3 Mini ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude 3 Sonnet ($15.00/1M tokens) is 30.0x more expensive than Grok-3 Mini ($0.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude 3 Sonnet is more expensive than Grok-3 Mini.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Jun 26 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude 3 Sonnet
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAnthropic
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerxAI
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude 3 Sonnet accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to Grok-3 Mini's 128,000 tokens. Claude 3 Sonnet can generate longer responses up to 200,000 tokens, while Grok-3 Mini is limited to 8,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude 3 Sonnet
Input200,000 tokens
Output200,000 tokens
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Fri Jun 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude 3 Sonnet and Grok-3 Mini support multimodal inputs.

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

Claude 3 Sonnet

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Grok-3 Mini

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 Sonnet

Proprietary

Closed source

Grok-3 Mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude 3 Sonnet was released on 2024-02-29, while Grok-3 Mini was released on 2025-02-17.

Grok-3 Mini is 12 months newer than Claude 3 Sonnet.

Claude 3 Sonnet

Feb 29, 2024

2.3 years ago

Grok-3 Mini

Feb 17, 2025

1.4 years ago

11mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok-3 Mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while Claude 3 Sonnet's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Grok-3 Mini's training data extends to 2024-11-17, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude 3 Sonnet's cutoff date.

Claude 3 Sonnet

—

Grok-3 Mini

Nov 2024

Provider Availability

Claude 3 Sonnet is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. Grok-3 Mini is available from xAI.

Claude 3 Sonnet

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M
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-3 Mini

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (200,000 tokens)
xAI
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher GPQA score (84.0% vs 40.4%)
AnthropicClaude 3 Sonnet
xAIGrok-3 Mini
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude 3 Sonnet and Grok-3 Mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude 3 Sonnet
✓ Preferred
Grok-3 Mini
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude 3 Sonnet
xAI
Grok-3 Mini

FAQ

Common questions about Claude 3 Sonnet vs Grok-3 Mini.

Which is better, Claude 3 Sonnet or Grok-3 Mini?

Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude 3 Sonnet is made by Anthropic and Grok-3 Mini is made by xAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude 3 Sonnet compare to Grok-3 Mini in benchmarks?

Claude 3 Sonnet scores ARC-C: 93.2%, GSM8k: 92.3%, HellaSwag: 89.0%, MGSM: 83.5%, BIG-Bench Hard: 82.9%. Grok-3 Mini scores AIME 2024: 95.8%, AIME 2025: 90.8%, GPQA: 84.0%, LiveCodeBench: 80.4%.

Is Claude 3 Sonnet cheaper than Grok-3 Mini?

Grok-3 Mini is 10.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude 3 Sonnet costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. Grok-3 Mini costs $0.30/M input and $0.50/M output via xai.

What are the context window sizes for Claude 3 Sonnet and Grok-3 Mini?

Claude 3 Sonnet supports 200K tokens and Grok-3 Mini supports 128K 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 Sonnet and Grok-3 Mini?

Key differences include context window (200K vs 128K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.30/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude 3 Sonnet and Grok-3 Mini?

Claude 3 Sonnet is developed by Anthropic and Grok-3 Mini is developed by xAI.

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