Skip to main content
TC
TokenCost

Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6

Complete pricing and performance comparison between Anthropic's Claude Haiku 4.5 and Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.6.

Quick Verdict

Cheaper
Claude Haiku 4.5
3.0x cheaper input, 3.0x cheaper output
Larger Context
Claude Haiku 4.5
200K vs 200K
Higher Quality
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Score: 44 vs 31
Faster
Claude Haiku 4.5
125 vs 54 tok/s

Pricing Comparison

SpecClaude Haiku 4.5Claude Sonnet 4.6Difference
ProviderAnthropicAnthropic
Input / 1M tokens$1$3Claude Haiku 4.5 is 67% more expensive
Output / 1M tokens$5$15Claude Haiku 4.5 is 67% more expensive
Context Window200K200KSame
Max Output8K64K

Performance Benchmarks

MetricClaude Haiku 4.5Claude Sonnet 4.6Winner
Quality Index3144Claude Sonnet 4.6
Output Speed125 tok/s54 tok/sClaude Haiku 4.5
Time to First Token0.41s1.17sClaude Haiku 4.5
Value (Quality/$)31.114.8Higher = better value

Benchmark data from Artificial Analysis. Quality Index is a composite score across reasoning, coding, and knowledge tasks.

Cost at Scale

Estimated cost at different usage levels (3:1 input-to-output token ratio, typical for chat).

UsageClaude Haiku 4.5Claude Sonnet 4.6Savings
Single request
1K in / 300 out
$0.0025$0.0075Claude Haiku 4.5 saves $0.0050
10 requests
10K in / 3K out
$0.025$0.075Claude Haiku 4.5 saves $0.050
100 requests
100K in / 30K out
$0.250$0.750Claude Haiku 4.5 saves $0.500
1,000 requests
1M in / 300K out
$2.50$7.50Claude Haiku 4.5 saves $5.00
10,000 requests
10M in / 3M out
$25.00$75.00Claude Haiku 4.5 saves $50.00
1M requests/mo
1B in / 300M out
$2500.00$7500.00Claude Haiku 4.5 saves $5000.00

Pros & Cons

Claude Haiku 4.5 Strengths

  • +Cheaper input tokens
  • +Cheaper output tokens
  • +Faster output (125 vs 54 tok/s)
  • +Lower latency (faster first token)

Claude Sonnet 4.6 Strengths

  • +Higher max output tokens
  • +Higher quality score (44 vs 31)

When to Use Each Model

Choose Claude Haiku 4.5 for

  • →Budget-conscious projects where cost is the primary factor
  • →Real-time applications, chat, or autocomplete

Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 for

  • →Generating long-form content or detailed code
  • →Tasks requiring maximum accuracy and reasoning

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Claude Sonnet 4.6?
For input tokens, Claude Haiku 4.5 is 3.0x cheaper at $1/1M tokens. For output tokens, Claude Haiku 4.5 is 3.0x cheaper at $5/1M tokens. At typical usage (1M input + 300K output), Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $2.50 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 at $7.50.
What's the context window difference?
Claude Haiku 4.5 supports 200K context (200,000 tokens), while Claude Sonnet 4.6 supports 200K (200,000 tokens). Claude Sonnet 4.6 can handle 1x more context in a single request.
Which model has better benchmarks?
Quality Index: Claude Haiku 4.5 scores 31 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 at 44. Speed: Claude Haiku 4.5 generates 125 tok/s vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 at 54 tok/s. Time to first token: Claude Haiku 4.5 at 0.41s vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 at 1.17s.
When should I choose Claude Haiku 4.5 over Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Choose Claude Haiku 4.5 when you need: Cheaper input tokens, Cheaper output tokens, Faster output (125 vs 54 tok/s), Lower latency (faster first token). Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 when you need: Higher max output tokens, Higher quality score (44 vs 31).
How much would 10,000 API requests cost?
At 1K input + 300 output tokens per request (typical chat): Claude Haiku 4.5 = $25.00, Claude Sonnet 4.6 = $75.00. At 10K input + 1K output per request (longer conversations): Claude Haiku 4.5 = $150.00, Claude Sonnet 4.6 = $450.00.

Related Comparisons

Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-5.4
$3 vs $2.5 per 1M input
Claude Haiku 4.5 vs GPT-5.4
$1 vs $2.5 per 1M input
Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-5
$3 vs $1.25 per 1M input
Claude Haiku 4.5 vs GPT-5
$1 vs $1.25 per 1M input
Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-5 Mini
$3 vs $0.25 per 1M input
Claude Haiku 4.5 vs GPT-5 Mini
$1 vs $0.25 per 1M input
Claude Haiku 4.5 DetailsClaude Sonnet 4.6 DetailsFull Pricing TableCost Calculator