Model Comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Gemma 3 4BWhich is better in 2026?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 4B is 240.0x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Gemma 3 4B — which is better?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 (by Anthropic) and Gemma 3 4B (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 Sonnet 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Gemma 3 4B is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Gemma 3 4B is roughly 240.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Claude Sonnet 4.5 also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Sonnet 4.5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025

Choose Gemma 3 4B if…

  • cost matters — it's about 240.0x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Claude Sonnet 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Gemma 3 4B is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Sonnet 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jun 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Gemma 3 4B costs less

For input processing, Claude Sonnet 4.5 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 150.0x more expensive than Gemma 3 4B ($0.02/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Sonnet 4.5 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 375.0x more expensive than Gemma 3 4B ($0.04/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 4.5 is more expensive than Gemma 3 4B.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Jun 26 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAnthropic
Google
Gemma 3 4B
Input tokens$0.02
Output tokens$0.04
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Sonnet 4.5 accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to Gemma 3 4B's 131,072 tokens. Gemma 3 4B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Google
Gemma 3 4B
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Fri Jun 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Gemma 3 4B support multimodal inputs.

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

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Gemma 3 4B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Gemma 3 4B uses Gemma.

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

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Gemma 3 4B

Gemma

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Sonnet 4.5 was released on 2025-09-29, while Gemma 3 4B was released on 2025-03-12.

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is 7 months newer than Gemma 3 4B.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Sep 29, 2025

9 months ago

6mo newer
Gemma 3 4B

Mar 12, 2025

1.3 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Claude Sonnet 4.5 has a knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while Gemma 3 4B has a cutoff of 2024-08-01.

Claude Sonnet 4.5 has more recent training data (up to 2025-01-31), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Gemma 3 4B (2024-08-01).

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Jan 2025

5 mo newer
Gemma 3 4B

Aug 2024

Provider Availability

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is available from Anthropic. Gemma 3 4B is available from DeepInfra.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

Gemma 3 4B

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.02/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.04/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion

Key Takeaways

Larger context window (200,000 tokens)
Higher GPQA score (83.4% vs 30.8%)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Gemma 3 4B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Sonnet 4.5
✓ Preferred
Gemma 3 4B
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Google
Gemma 3 4B

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Gemma 3 4B.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Gemma 3 4B?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 4.5 is made by Anthropic and Gemma 3 4B is made by Google. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Sonnet 4.5 compare to Gemma 3 4B in benchmarks?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores MMMLU: 89.1%, AIME 2025: 87.0%, TAU-bench Retail: 86.2%, GPQA: 83.4%, MMMUval: 77.8%. Gemma 3 4B scores IFEval: 90.2%, GSM8k: 89.2%, DocVQA: 75.8%, MATH: 75.6%, AI2D: 74.8%.

Is Claude Sonnet 4.5 cheaper than Gemma 3 4B?

Gemma 3 4B is 150.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. Gemma 3 4B costs $0.02/M input and $0.04/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Gemma 3 4B?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 supports 200K tokens and Gemma 3 4B supports 131K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Gemma 3 4B?

Key differences include context window (200K vs 131K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.02/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Gemma). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Gemma 3 4B?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is developed by Anthropic and Gemma 3 4B is developed by Google.