Model Comparison
Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6
Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 1.7x cheaper per token.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Opus 4.6 outperforms in 11 benchmarks (ARC-AGI v2, BrowseComp, GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MMMLU, MMMU-Pro, OSWorld, SWE-Bench Verified, Tau2 Retail, Tau2 Telecom, Terminal-Bench 2.0), while Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better at 3 benchmarks (Finance Agent, GDPval-AA, MCP Atlas).
Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 1.7x more expensive than Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($3.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 1.7x more expensive than Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($15.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.6 is more expensive than Claude Sonnet 4.6.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Claude Opus 4.6 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 200,000 tokens. Claude Opus 4.6 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 is limited to 64,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Sonnet 4.6 support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Opus 4.6
Claude Sonnet 4.6
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 4.6 was released on 2026-02-05, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 was released on 2026-02-17.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 0 month newer than Claude Opus 4.6.
Feb 5, 2026
2 months ago
Feb 17, 2026
1 months ago
1w newerKnowledge 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 4.6 is available from Anthropic. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is available from Anthropic.
Claude Opus 4.6
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Opus 4.6
View detailsAnthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.6
View detailsAnthropic
Detailed Comparison
| Feature |
|---|
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6