Model Comparison
Claude Opus 4.6 vs Gemma 4 31BWhich is better in 2026?
Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 4 31B is 51.9x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Claude Opus 4.6 vs Gemma 4 31B — which is better?
Claude Opus 4.6 (by Anthropic) and Gemma 4 31B (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 5 benchmarks (GDPval-AA, GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MMMLU, MMMU-Pro), while Gemma 4 31B is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Gemma 4 31B is roughly 51.9x 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 5 of 5 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
Choose Gemma 4 31B if…
- cost matters — it's about 51.9x 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
Claude Opus 4.6 outperforms in 5 benchmarks (GDPval-AA, GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MMMLU, MMMU-Pro), while Gemma 4 31B is better at 0 benchmarks.
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 38.5x more expensive than Gemma 4 31B ($0.13/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 65.8x more expensive than Gemma 4 31B ($0.38/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.6 is more expensive than Gemma 4 31B.*
* 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 Gemma 4 31B's 262,144 tokens. Gemma 4 31B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Claude Opus 4.6 is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Claude Opus 4.6 and Gemma 4 31B support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Opus 4.6
Gemma 4 31B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Claude Opus 4.6 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Gemma 4 31B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
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 31B was released on 2026-04-02.
Gemma 4 31B is 2 months newer than Claude Opus 4.6.
Feb 5, 2026
5 months ago
Apr 2, 2026
3 months ago
1mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemma 4 31B 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 31B's training data extends to 2025-01-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude Opus 4.6's cutoff date.
—
Jan 2025
Provider Availability
Claude Opus 4.6 is available from Anthropic. Gemma 4 31B is available from DeepInfra, FriendliAI, Novita, Together.
Claude Opus 4.6
Gemma 4 31B
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Opus 4.6
View detailsAnthropic
Gemma 4 31B
View detailsDetailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 4.6 and Gemma 4 31B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
| Feature |
|---|
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4.6 vs Gemma 4 31B.