Model Comparison

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

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

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

Claude Opus 5 (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 5 outperforms in 9 benchmarks (AutomationBench, BrowseComp, DeepSWE 1.1, FrontierCode, FrontierCode 1.1, GDPval-AA, HealthBench Professional, Humanity's Last Exam, Legal Agent Benchmark), while Claude Sonnet 5 is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Opus 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 5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 9 of 9 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Claude Sonnet 5 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 1.7x cheaper per token

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

9 benchmarks

Claude Opus 5 outperforms in 9 benchmarks (AutomationBench, BrowseComp, DeepSWE 1.1, FrontierCode, FrontierCode 1.1, GDPval-AA, HealthBench Professional, Humanity's Last Exam, Legal Agent Benchmark), while Claude Sonnet 5 is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Opus 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Mon Jul 27 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 5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 1.7x more expensive than Claude Sonnet 5 ($3.00/1M tokens).

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

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

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
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 5 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Opus 5 and Claude Sonnet 5 support multimodal inputs.

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

Claude Opus 5

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 5

Proprietary

Closed source

Claude Sonnet 5

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Opus 5 was released on 2026-07-24, while Claude Sonnet 5 was released on 2026-06-30.

Claude Opus 5 is 1 month newer than Claude Sonnet 5.

Claude Opus 5

Jul 24, 2026

3 days ago

3w newer
Claude Sonnet 5

Jun 30, 2026

3 weeks 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 5 is available from Anthropic. Claude Sonnet 5 is available from Anthropic.

Claude Opus 5

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
Higher AutomationBench score (26.0% vs 13.5%)
Higher BrowseComp score (90.8% vs 84.7%)
Higher DeepSWE 1.1 score (68.8% vs 54.0%)
Higher FrontierCode score (53.4% vs 38.8%)
Higher FrontierCode 1.1 score (53.4% vs 42.7%)
Higher GDPval-AA score (62.0% vs 53.9%)
Higher HealthBench Professional score (59.8% vs 57.8%)
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (64.7% vs 57.4%)
Higher Legal Agent Benchmark score (11.7% vs 5.8%)
Anthropic
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

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

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

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Opus 5 vs Claude Sonnet 5.

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

Claude Opus 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Opus 5 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 5 compare to Claude Sonnet 5 in benchmarks?

Claude Opus 5 scores BrowseComp: 90.8%, BioMysteryBench: 90.1%, OSWorld 2.0: 70.6%, DeepSWE 1.1: 68.8%, Humanity's Last Exam: 64.7%. 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 5 cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5?

Claude Sonnet 5 is 1.7x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Opus 5 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 5 and Claude Sonnet 5?

Claude Opus 5 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 5 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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