Model Comparison

Claude Opus 4.5 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6Which is better in 2026?

Claude Opus 4.5 has a slight edge in benchmark performance. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 1.7x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Opus 4.5 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 — which is better?

Claude Opus 4.5 (by Anthropic) and Claude Sonnet 4.6 (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 4.5 outperforms in 6 benchmarks (LiveBench, MCP Atlas, MMMLU, SWE-Bench Verified, Tau2 Telecom, Terminal-Bench 2.0), while Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better at 4 benchmarks (ARC-AGI v2, GPQA, OSWorld, Tau2 Retail). Claude Opus 4.5 has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

On price, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is roughly 1.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Choose Claude Opus 4.5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 6 of 10 shared benchmarks

Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 1.7x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2026
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

10 benchmarks

Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 6 benchmarks (LiveBench, MCP Atlas, MMMLU, SWE-Bench Verified, Tau2 Telecom, Terminal-Bench 2.0), while Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better at 4 benchmarks (ARC-AGI v2, GPQA, OSWorld, Tau2 Retail).

Claude Opus 4.5 has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Thu Jun 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs less

For input processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 1.7x more expensive than Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($3.00/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 1.7x more expensive than Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($15.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.5 is more expensive than Claude Sonnet 4.6.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Thu Jun 25 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5
Input tokens$5.00
Output tokens$25.00
Best providerAnthropic
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAnthropic
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

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 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Thu Jun 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Opus 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6 support multimodal inputs.

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

Claude Opus 4.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Claude Sonnet 4.6

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 Opus 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Claude Sonnet 4.6

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Opus 4.5 was released on 2025-11-24, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 was released on 2026-02-17.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 3 months newer than Claude Opus 4.5.

Claude Opus 4.5

Nov 24, 2025

7 months ago

Claude Sonnet 4.6

Feb 17, 2026

4 months ago

2mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Claude Opus 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-31, while Claude Sonnet 4.6's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Claude Opus 4.5's training data extends to 2025-03-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude Sonnet 4.6's cutoff date.

Claude Opus 4.5

Mar 2025

Claude Sonnet 4.6

—

Provider Availability

Claude Opus 4.5 is available from Anthropic. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is available from Anthropic.

Claude Opus 4.5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $5.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $25.00/1M

Claude Sonnet 4.6

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Higher LiveBench score (76.0% vs 75.5%)
Higher MCP Atlas score (62.3% vs 61.3%)
Higher MMMLU score (90.8% vs 89.3%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (80.9% vs 79.6%)
Higher Tau2 Telecom score (98.2% vs 97.9%)
Higher Terminal-Bench 2.0 score (59.3% vs 59.1%)
Anthropic
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher ARC-AGI v2 score (58.3% vs 37.6%)
Higher GPQA score (89.9% vs 87.0%)
Higher OSWorld score (72.5% vs 66.3%)
Higher Tau2 Retail score (91.7% vs 88.9%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.6

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Opus 4.5 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6.

Which is better, Claude Opus 4.5 or Claude Sonnet 4.6?

Claude Opus 4.5 has a slight edge in benchmark performance. Claude Opus 4.5 is made by Anthropic and Claude Sonnet 4.6 is made by Anthropic. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Opus 4.5 compare to Claude Sonnet 4.6 in benchmarks?

Claude Opus 4.5 scores Tau2 Telecom: 98.2%, MMMLU: 90.8%, Tau2 Retail: 88.9%, GPQA: 87.0%, SWE-Bench Verified: 80.9%. Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores Tau2 Telecom: 97.9%, Tau2 Retail: 91.7%, GPQA: 89.9%, MMMLU: 89.3%, SWE-Bench Verified: 79.6%.

Is Claude Opus 4.5 cheaper than Claude Sonnet 4.6?

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 1.7x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Opus 4.5 costs $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output via anthropic. Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Opus 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6?

Claude Opus 4.5 supports 200K tokens and Claude Sonnet 4.6 supports 200K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Opus 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6?

Key differences include input pricing ($5.00 vs $3.00/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

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