Model Comparison

Claude Opus 4.6 vs Gemma 4 26B-A4BWhich is better in 2026?

Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 4 26B-A4B is 50.6x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Opus 4.6 vs Gemma 4 26B-A4B — which is better?

Claude Opus 4.6 (by Anthropic) and Gemma 4 26B-A4B (by Google) 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 4 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MMMLU, MMMU-Pro), while Gemma 4 26B-A4B is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Gemma 4 26B-A4B is roughly 50.6x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Claude Opus 4.6 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Opus 4.6 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 4 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window

Choose Gemma 4 26B-A4B if…

  • cost matters — it's about 50.6x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2026
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

Claude Opus 4.6 outperforms in 4 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MMMLU, MMMU-Pro), while Gemma 4 26B-A4B is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jul 05 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Gemma 4 26B-A4B costs less

For input processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 38.5x more expensive than Gemma 4 26B-A4B ($0.13/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 62.5x more expensive than Gemma 4 26B-A4B ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.6 is more expensive than Gemma 4 26B-A4B.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Jul 05 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.6
Input tokens$5.00
Output tokens$25.00
Best providerAnthropic
Google
Gemma 4 26B-A4B
Input tokens$0.13
Output tokens$0.40
Best providerNovita
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Opus 4.6 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Gemma 4 26B-A4B's 262,144 tokens. Gemma 4 26B-A4B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Claude Opus 4.6 is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.6
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Google
Gemma 4 26B-A4B
Input262,144 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Sun Jul 05 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Opus 4.6 and Gemma 4 26B-A4B 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

Gemma 4 26B-A4B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Opus 4.6 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Gemma 4 26B-A4B uses Apache 2.0.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Claude Opus 4.6

Proprietary

Closed source

Gemma 4 26B-A4B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Opus 4.6 was released on 2026-02-05, while Gemma 4 26B-A4B was released on 2026-04-02.

Gemma 4 26B-A4B is 2 months newer than Claude Opus 4.6.

Claude Opus 4.6

Feb 5, 2026

5 months ago

Gemma 4 26B-A4B

Apr 2, 2026

3 months ago

1mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemma 4 26B-A4B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-01, while Claude Opus 4.6's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemma 4 26B-A4B's training data extends to 2025-01-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude Opus 4.6's cutoff date.

Claude Opus 4.6

—

Gemma 4 26B-A4B

Jan 2025

Provider Availability

Claude Opus 4.6 is available from Anthropic. Gemma 4 26B-A4B is available from Novita.

Claude Opus 4.6

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

Gemma 4 26B-A4B

novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.13/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
Higher GPQA score (91.3% vs 82.3%)
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (53.1% vs 17.2%)
Higher MMMLU score (91.1% vs 86.3%)
Higher MMMU-Pro score (77.3% vs 73.8%)
Google
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 4.6 and Gemma 4 26B-A4B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Opus 4.6
✓ Preferred
Gemma 4 26B-A4B
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.6
Google
Gemma 4 26B-A4B

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Opus 4.6 vs Gemma 4 26B-A4B.

Which is better, Claude Opus 4.6 or Gemma 4 26B-A4B?

Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.6 is made by Anthropic and Gemma 4 26B-A4B is made by Google. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Opus 4.6 compare to Gemma 4 26B-A4B 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%. Gemma 4 26B-A4B scores AIME 2026: 88.3%, MMMLU: 86.3%, t2-bench: 85.5%, MMLU-Pro: 82.6%, MathVision: 82.4%.

Is Claude Opus 4.6 cheaper than Gemma 4 26B-A4B?

Gemma 4 26B-A4B is 38.5x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Opus 4.6 costs $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output via anthropic. Gemma 4 26B-A4B costs $0.13/M input and $0.40/M output via novita.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Opus 4.6 and Gemma 4 26B-A4B?

Claude Opus 4.6 supports 1.0M tokens and Gemma 4 26B-A4B supports 262K 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 Gemma 4 26B-A4B?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 262K), input pricing ($5.00 vs $0.13/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Opus 4.6 and Gemma 4 26B-A4B?

Claude Opus 4.6 is developed by Anthropic and Gemma 4 26B-A4B is developed by Google.

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