Claude Opus 4.5 vs Claude Sonnet 5
Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 5 is 2.5x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · Anthropic · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Claude Sonnet 5 is better at 2 benchmarks (SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0). Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Claude Sonnet 5 is roughly 2.5x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Claude Sonnet 5 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 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 Opus 4.5
- you want predictable pricing at $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output
Choose Claude Sonnet 5
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
- cost matters — it's about 2.5x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Claude Sonnet 5 is better at 2 benchmarks (SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0).
Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 2.5x more expensive than Claude Sonnet 5 ($2.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 2.5x more expensive than Claude Sonnet 5 ($10.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.5 is more expensive than Claude Sonnet 5.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Claude Sonnet 5 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Claude Opus 4.5's 200,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 64,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Claude Opus 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 5 support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Opus 4.5
Claude Sonnet 5
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 Opus 4.5 was released on 2025-11-24, while Claude Sonnet 5 was released on 2026-06-30.
Claude Sonnet 5 is 7 months newer than Claude Opus 4.5.
Nov 24, 2025
9 months ago
Jun 30, 2026
1 months ago
7mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Claude Opus 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-31, while Claude Sonnet 5'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 5's cutoff date.
Mar 2025
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Provider Availability
Claude Opus 4.5 is available from Anthropic. Claude Sonnet 5 is available from Anthropic.
Claude Opus 4.5
Claude Sonnet 5
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4.5 vs Claude Sonnet 5.