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Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6

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

Quick Verdict

Cheaper
Claude Sonnet 4.6
1.7x cheaper input, 1.7x cheaper output
Larger Context
Claude Opus 4.6
200K vs 200K
Higher Quality
Claude Opus 4.6
Score: 47 vs 44
Faster
Claude Opus 4.6
56 vs 54 tok/s

Pricing Comparison

SpecClaude Opus 4.6Claude Sonnet 4.6Difference
ProviderAnthropicAnthropic
Input / 1M tokens$5$3Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 40% more expensive
Output / 1M tokens$25$15Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 40% more expensive
Context Window200K200KSame
Max Output32K64K

Performance Benchmarks

MetricClaude Opus 4.6Claude Sonnet 4.6Winner
Quality Index4744Claude Opus 4.6
Output Speed56 tok/s54 tok/sClaude Opus 4.6
Time to First Token1.77s1.17sClaude Sonnet 4.6
Value (Quality/$)9.314.8Higher = 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 Opus 4.6Claude Sonnet 4.6Savings
Single request
1K in / 300 out
$0.013$0.0075Claude Sonnet 4.6 saves $0.0050
10 requests
10K in / 3K out
$0.125$0.075Claude Sonnet 4.6 saves $0.050
100 requests
100K in / 30K out
$1.25$0.750Claude Sonnet 4.6 saves $0.500
1,000 requests
1M in / 300K out
$12.50$7.50Claude Sonnet 4.6 saves $5.00
10,000 requests
10M in / 3M out
$125.00$75.00Claude Sonnet 4.6 saves $50.00
1M requests/mo
1B in / 300M out
$12500.00$7500.00Claude Sonnet 4.6 saves $5000.00

Pros & Cons

Claude Opus 4.6 Strengths

  • +Faster output (56 vs 54 tok/s)
  • +Higher quality score (47 vs 44)

Claude Sonnet 4.6 Strengths

  • +Cheaper input tokens
  • +Cheaper output tokens
  • +Higher max output tokens
  • +Lower latency (faster first token)

When to Use Each Model

Choose Claude Opus 4.6 for

  • →Tasks requiring maximum accuracy and reasoning
  • →Real-time applications, chat, or autocomplete

Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 for

  • →Budget-conscious projects where cost is the primary factor
  • →Generating long-form content or detailed code

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Sonnet 4.6?
For input tokens, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 1.7x cheaper at $3/1M tokens. For output tokens, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 1.7x cheaper at $15/1M tokens. At typical usage (1M input + 300K output), Claude Opus 4.6 costs $12.50 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 at $7.50.
What's the context window difference?
Claude Opus 4.6 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 Opus 4.6 scores 47 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 at 44. Speed: Claude Opus 4.6 generates 56 tok/s vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 at 54 tok/s. Time to first token: Claude Opus 4.6 at 1.77s vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 at 1.17s.
When should I choose Claude Opus 4.6 over Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Choose Claude Opus 4.6 when you need: Faster output (56 vs 54 tok/s), Higher quality score (47 vs 44). Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 when you need: Cheaper input tokens, Cheaper output tokens, Higher max output tokens, Lower latency (faster first token).
How much would 10,000 API requests cost?
At 1K input + 300 output tokens per request (typical chat): Claude Opus 4.6 = $125.00, Claude Sonnet 4.6 = $75.00. At 10K input + 1K output per request (longer conversations): Claude Opus 4.6 = $750.00, Claude Sonnet 4.6 = $450.00.

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Claude Opus 4.6 DetailsClaude Sonnet 4.6 DetailsFull Pricing TableCost Calculator