Claude 3 Sonnet vs Grok-3 Mini
Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-3 Mini is 17.1x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · xAI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
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.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude 3 Sonnet
- you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
Choose Grok-3 Mini
- 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
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
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.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
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
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.
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
Grok-3 Mini
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 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.
Feb 29, 2024
2.5 years ago
Feb 17, 2025
1.5 years ago
11mo newerKnowledge 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.
—
Nov 2024
Provider Availability
Claude 3 Sonnet is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. Grok-3 Mini is available from xAI.
Claude 3 Sonnet
Grok-3 Mini
Outputs Comparison
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.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude 3 Sonnet vs Grok-3 Mini.