Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude 3 Opus Comparison

Comparing Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude 3 Opus across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Claude Opus 4.6 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Claude 3 Opus is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Mar 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Claude Opus 4.6 costs less

For input processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 3.0x cheaper than Claude 3 Opus ($15.00/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 3.0x cheaper than Claude 3 Opus ($75.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude 3 Opus is more expensive than Claude Opus 4.6.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers

Tue Mar 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Claude Opus 4.6

Input tokens$5.00

Output tokens$25.00

Best providerAnthropic

Claude 3 Opus

Input tokens$15.00

Output tokens$75.00

Best providerAnthropic

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Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 200,000 tokens. Claude 3 Opus can generate longer responses up to 200,000 tokens, while Claude Opus 4.6 is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Claude Opus 4.6

Input200,000 tokens

Output128,000 tokens

Claude 3 Opus

Input200,000 tokens

Output200,000 tokens

Tue Mar 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude 3 Opus support multimodal inputs.

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

Claude Opus 4.6

Text

Images

Audio

Video

Claude 3 Opus

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 4.6

Proprietary

Closed source

Claude 3 Opus

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Opus 4.6 was released on 2026-02-05, while Claude 3 Opus was released on 2024-02-29.

Claude Opus 4.6 is 24 months newer than Claude 3 Opus.

Claude Opus 4.6

Feb 5, 2026

1 months ago

1.9yr newer

Claude 3 Opus

Feb 29, 2024

2.0 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Claude Opus 4.6 is available from Anthropic. Claude 3 Opus is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. The availability of providers can affect quality of the model and reliability.