Model Comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Gemma 4 26B-A4B

Claude Sonnet 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 4 26B-A4B is 30.4x cheaper per token.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

Claude Sonnet 4.6 outperforms in 4 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, MMMLU, MMMU-Pro), while Gemma 4 26B-A4B is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Apr 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Gemma 4 26B-A4B costs less

For input processing, Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 23.1x more expensive than Gemma 4 26B-A4B ($0.13/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 37.5x more expensive than Gemma 4 26B-A4B ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is more expensive than Gemma 4 26B-A4B.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Apr 18 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAnthropic
Google
Gemma 4 26B-A4B
Input tokens$0.13
Output tokens$0.40
Best providerNovita
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Gemma 4 26B-A4B accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 200,000 tokens. Gemma 4 26B-A4B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Google
Gemma 4 26B-A4B
Input262,144 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Sat Apr 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Gemma 4 26B-A4B support multimodal inputs.

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

Claude Sonnet 4.6

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Gemma 4 26B-A4B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Gemma 4 26B-A4B uses Apache 2.0.

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

Claude Sonnet 4.6

Proprietary

Closed source

Gemma 4 26B-A4B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Sonnet 4.6 was released on 2026-02-17, while Gemma 4 26B-A4B was released on 2026-04-02.

Gemma 4 26B-A4B is 1 month newer than Claude Sonnet 4.6.

Claude Sonnet 4.6

Feb 17, 2026

2 months ago

Gemma 4 26B-A4B

Apr 2, 2026

2 weeks ago

1mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemma 4 26B-A4B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-01, while Claude Sonnet 4.6's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemma 4 26B-A4B's training data extends to 2025-01-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude Sonnet 4.6's cutoff date.

Claude Sonnet 4.6

—

Gemma 4 26B-A4B

Jan 2025

Provider Availability

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is available from Anthropic. Gemma 4 26B-A4B is available from Novita.

Claude Sonnet 4.6

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

Gemma 4 26B-A4B

novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.13/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Higher GPQA score (89.9% vs 82.3%)
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (49.0% vs 17.2%)
Higher MMMLU score (89.3% vs 86.3%)
Higher MMMU-Pro score (75.6% vs 73.8%)
Google
Larger context window (262,144 tokens)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Google
Gemma 4 26B-A4B

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Gemma 4 26B-A4B

Claude Sonnet 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is made by Anthropic and Gemma 4 26B-A4B is made by Google. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores Tau2 Telecom: 97.9%, Tau2 Retail: 91.7%, GPQA: 89.9%, MMMLU: 89.3%, SWE-Bench Verified: 79.6%. Gemma 4 26B-A4B scores AIME 2026: 88.3%, MMMLU: 86.3%, t2-bench: 85.5%, MMLU-Pro: 82.6%, MathVision: 82.4%.
Gemma 4 26B-A4B is 23.1x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. Gemma 4 26B-A4B costs $0.13/M input and $0.40/M output via novita.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 supports 200K tokens and Gemma 4 26B-A4B supports 262K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.
Key differences include context window (200K vs 262K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.13/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is developed by Anthropic and Gemma 4 26B-A4B is developed by Google.