Model Comparison

Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 5Which is better in 2026?

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 5 is 1.7x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 5 — which is better?

Claude Opus 4.6 (by Anthropic) and Claude Sonnet 5 (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 4.6 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Claude Sonnet 5 is better at 8 benchmarks (BrowseComp, CharXiv-R, GDPval-AA, Humanity's Last Exam, Legal Agent Benchmark, SWE-bench Multilingual, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0). Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Claude Sonnet 5 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 4.6 if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output

Choose Claude Sonnet 5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 8 of 8 shared benchmarks
  • cost matters — it's about 1.7x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2026

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

8 benchmarks

Claude Opus 4.6 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Claude Sonnet 5 is better at 8 benchmarks (BrowseComp, CharXiv-R, GDPval-AA, Humanity's Last Exam, Legal Agent Benchmark, SWE-bench Multilingual, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0).

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Jun 30 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Claude Sonnet 5 costs less

For input processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 1.7x more expensive than Claude Sonnet 5 ($3.00/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 1.7x more expensive than Claude Sonnet 5 ($15.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.6 is more expensive than Claude Sonnet 5.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Jun 30 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.6
Input tokens$5.00
Output tokens$25.00
Best providerAnthropic
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
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 1,000,000 tokens. Claude Opus 4.6 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.6
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Tue Jun 30 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Sonnet 5 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 Sonnet 5

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 Sonnet 5

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Opus 4.6 was released on 2026-02-05, while Claude Sonnet 5 was released on 2026-06-30.

Claude Sonnet 5 is 5 months newer than Claude Opus 4.6.

Claude Opus 4.6

Feb 5, 2026

4 months ago

Claude Sonnet 5

Jun 30, 2026

0 days ago

4mo newer

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 Sonnet 5 is available from Anthropic.

Claude Opus 4.6

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

Claude Sonnet 5

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

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic

No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.

Anthropic
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher BrowseComp score (84.7% vs 84.0%)
Higher CharXiv-R score (88.3% vs 77.4%)
Higher GDPval-AA score (53.9% vs 53.5%)
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (57.4% vs 53.1%)
Higher Legal Agent Benchmark score (5.8% vs 4.2%)
Higher SWE-bench Multilingual score (78.3% vs 77.8%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (85.2% vs 80.8%)
Higher Terminal-Bench 2.0 score (80.4% vs 65.4%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Sonnet 5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Opus 4.6
✓ Preferred
Claude Sonnet 5
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.6
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 5.

Which is better, Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Sonnet 5?

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.6 is made by Anthropic and Claude Sonnet 5 is made by Anthropic. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Opus 4.6 compare to Claude Sonnet 5 in benchmarks?

Claude Opus 4.6 scores Vending-Bench 2: 100.0%, AIME 2025: 99.8%, Tau2 Telecom: 99.3%, Graphwalks parents >128k: 95.4%, Tau2 Retail: 91.9%. Claude Sonnet 5 scores CharXiv-R: 88.3%, ChartMuseum: 86.7%, SWE-Bench Verified: 85.2%, BrowseComp: 84.7%, GDP.pdf: 81.6%.

Is Claude Opus 4.6 cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5?

Claude Sonnet 5 is 1.7x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Opus 4.6 costs $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output via anthropic. Claude Sonnet 5 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Sonnet 5?

Claude Opus 4.6 supports 1.0M tokens and Claude Sonnet 5 supports 1.0M 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 4.6 and Claude Sonnet 5?

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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