Claude Sonnet 5 vs Grok 4.5
Claude Sonnet 5 and Grok 4.5 are closely matched at 48.5 and 45.5 on the LLM Stats Score. Grok 4.5 is 1.3x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · xAI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Claude Sonnet 5 and Grok 4.5 are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 48.5 and 45.5.
In the 4 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Grok 4.5 wins 3; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Grok 4.5 is roughly 1.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Claude Sonnet 5 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude Sonnet 5
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
Choose Grok 4.5
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 3 of 4 exact shared results
- cost matters — it's about 1.3x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
23 reported for Claude Sonnet 5 · 15 for Grok 4.5
Claude Sonnet 5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (FrontierCode 1.1), while Grok 4.5 is better at 1 benchmark (SWE-Bench Pro).
Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($2.00/1M tokens) costs the same as Grok 4.5 ($2.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($10.00/1M tokens) is 1.7x more expensive than Grok 4.5 ($6.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 5 is more expensive than Grok 4.5.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Claude Sonnet 5 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Grok 4.5's 500,000 tokens. Only Claude Sonnet 5 specifies output context (64,000 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Claude Sonnet 5 and Grok 4.5 support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Sonnet 5
Grok 4.5
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 5 was released on 2026-06-30, while Grok 4.5 was released on 2026-07-16.
Grok 4.5 is 1 month newer than Claude Sonnet 5.
Jun 30, 2026
2 months ago
Jul 16, 2026
1 months ago
2w newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Grok 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-02-01, while Claude Sonnet 5's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Grok 4.5's training data extends to 2026-02-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude Sonnet 5's cutoff date.
—
Feb 2026
Provider Availability
Claude Sonnet 5 is available from Anthropic. Grok 4.5 is available from xAI.
Claude Sonnet 5
Grok 4.5
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Sonnet 5 and Grok 4.5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Sonnet 5 vs Grok 4.5.