Model Comparison
Claude Opus 4.5 vs Grok-4.20 Beta ReasoningWhich is better in 2026?
Comparing Claude Opus 4.5 and Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.
Verdict: Claude Opus 4.5 vs Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning — which is better?
Claude Opus 4.5 (by Anthropic) and Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning (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.
On price, Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning is roughly 3.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning also accepts a larger context window (2,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Claude Opus 4.5 if…
- you want predictable pricing at $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output
Choose Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning if…
- cost matters — it's about 3.3x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 2,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2026
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Opus 4.5 and Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoningdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 2.5x more expensive than Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning ($2.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 4.2x more expensive than Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning ($6.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.5 is more expensive than Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning accepts 2,000,000 input tokens compared to Claude Opus 4.5's 200,000 tokens. Claude Opus 4.5 can generate longer responses up to 64,000 tokens, while Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning is limited to 30,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Claude Opus 4.5 and Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Opus 4.5
Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning
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 Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning was released on 2026-03-09.
Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning is 4 months newer than Claude Opus 4.5.
Nov 24, 2025
6 months ago
Mar 9, 2026
3 months ago
3mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Claude Opus 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-31, while Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning'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 Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning's cutoff date.
Mar 2025
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Provider Availability
Claude Opus 4.5 is available from Anthropic. Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning is available from xAI.
Claude Opus 4.5
Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Opus 4.5
View detailsAnthropic
No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4.5 vs Grok-4.20 Beta Reasoning.