Model Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Qwen3 Max
Claude Sonnet 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3 Max is 3.7x cheaper per token.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Sonnet 4.5 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA), while Qwen3 Max is better at 0 benchmarks.
Claude Sonnet 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Sonnet 4.5 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 6.0x more expensive than Qwen3 Max ($0.50/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Sonnet 4.5 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 3.0x more expensive than Qwen3 Max ($5.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 4.5 is more expensive than Qwen3 Max.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Qwen3 Max accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to Claude Sonnet 4.5's 200,000 tokens. Qwen3 Max can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Claude Sonnet 4.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3 Max does not.
Claude Sonnet 4.5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Qwen3 Max
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.
Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.
Proprietary
Closed source
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Sonnet 4.5 was released on 2025-09-29, while Qwen3 Max was released on 2025-12-15.
Qwen3 Max is 3 months newer than Claude Sonnet 4.5.
Sep 29, 2025
7 months ago
Dec 15, 2025
4 months ago
2mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Claude Sonnet 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while Qwen3 Max'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 Qwen3 Max's cutoff date.
Jan 2025
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Provider Availability
Claude Sonnet 4.5 is available from Anthropic. Qwen3 Max is available from Novita.
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Qwen3 Max
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Sonnet 4.5
View detailsAnthropic
Qwen3 Max
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Qwen3 Max.