Model Comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Llama 3.2 90B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is 16.6x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Llama 3.2 90B Instruct — which is better?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 (by Anthropic) and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct (by Meta) 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 Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is roughly 16.6x 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 Llama 3.2 90B Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 16.6x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Claude Sonnet 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Sonnet 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jun 06 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Llama 3.2 90B Instruct costs less

For input processing, Claude Sonnet 4.5 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 8.6x more expensive than Llama 3.2 90B Instruct ($0.35/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Sonnet 4.5 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 37.5x more expensive than Llama 3.2 90B Instruct ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 4.5 is more expensive than Llama 3.2 90B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Jun 06 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAnthropic
Meta
Llama 3.2 90B Instruct
Input tokens$0.35
Output tokens$0.40
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 Llama 3.2 90B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Llama 3.2 90B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Meta
Llama 3.2 90B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Sat Jun 06 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct 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

Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Llama 3.2 90B Instruct uses Llama 3.2.

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

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

Llama 3.2

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Sonnet 4.5 was released on 2025-09-29, while Llama 3.2 90B Instruct was released on 2024-09-25.

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is 12 months newer than Llama 3.2 90B Instruct.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Sep 29, 2025

8 months ago

1.0yr newer
Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

Sep 25, 2024

1.7 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Claude Sonnet 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while Llama 3.2 90B Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Claude Sonnet 4.5's training data extends to 2025-01-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Llama 3.2 90B Instruct's cutoff date.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Jan 2025

Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

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Provider Availability

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is available from Anthropic. Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Bedrock, Fireworks, Together, Hyperbolic.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

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

Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.35/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $0.72/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.72/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.89/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.89/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $1.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
hyperbolic logo
Hyperbolic
Input Price:Input: $2.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (200,000 tokens)
Higher GPQA score (83.4% vs 46.7%)
Meta
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Meta
Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Llama 3.2 90B Instruct.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Llama 3.2 90B Instruct?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 4.5 is made by Anthropic and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is made by Meta. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Sonnet 4.5 compare to Llama 3.2 90B Instruct 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%. Llama 3.2 90B Instruct scores AI2D: 92.3%, DocVQA: 90.1%, MGSM: 86.9%, MMLU: 86.0%, ChartQA: 85.5%.

Is Claude Sonnet 4.5 cheaper than Llama 3.2 90B Instruct?

Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is 8.6x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. Llama 3.2 90B Instruct costs $0.35/M input and $0.40/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 supports 200K tokens and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct supports 128K 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 Llama 3.2 90B Instruct?

Key differences include context window (200K vs 128K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.35/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Llama 3.2). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is developed by Anthropic and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is developed by Meta.

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