Model Comparison
Claude Opus 4 vs Claude Sonnet 4Which is better in 2026?
Claude Opus 4 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 4 is 5.0x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Claude Opus 4 vs Claude Sonnet 4 — which is better?
Claude Opus 4 (by Anthropic) and Claude Sonnet 4 (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 Opus 4 outperforms in 5 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, MMMLU, TAU-bench Retail, Terminal-Bench), while Claude Sonnet 4 is better at 2 benchmarks (SWE-Bench Verified, TAU-bench Airline). Claude Opus 4 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
On price, Claude Sonnet 4 is roughly 5.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Choose Claude Opus 4 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 7 shared benchmarks
Choose Claude Sonnet 4 if…
- cost matters — it's about 5.0x cheaper per token
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Opus 4 outperforms in 5 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, MMMLU, TAU-bench Retail, Terminal-Bench), while Claude Sonnet 4 is better at 2 benchmarks (SWE-Bench Verified, TAU-bench Airline).
Claude Opus 4 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 4 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Claude Sonnet 4 ($3.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4 ($75.00/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Claude Sonnet 4 ($15.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4 is more expensive than Claude Sonnet 4.*
* 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. Claude Sonnet 4 can generate longer responses up to 64,000 tokens, while Claude Opus 4 is limited to 32,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4 support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Opus 4
Claude Sonnet 4
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 2025-05-22.
They likely represent similar generations of model development.
May 22, 2025
1.2 years ago
May 22, 2025
1.2 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 Opus 4 is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. Claude Sonnet 4 is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google.
Claude Opus 4
Claude Sonnet 4
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Opus 4
View detailsAnthropic
Claude Sonnet 4
View detailsAnthropic
Claude Opus 4Claude Sonnet 4Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4 vs Claude Sonnet 4.