Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs GPT-4o Mini
Complete pricing and performance comparison between Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.5 and OpenAI's GPT-4o Mini.
Quick Verdict
Cheaper
GPT-4o Mini
20.0x cheaper input, 25.0x cheaper output
Larger Context
Claude Sonnet 4.5
200K vs 128K
Pricing Comparison
| Spec | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | GPT-4o Mini | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic | OpenAI | |
| Input / 1M tokens | $3 | $0.15 | GPT-4o Mini is 95% more expensive |
| Output / 1M tokens | $15 | $0.6 | GPT-4o Mini is 96% more expensive |
| Context Window | 200K | 128K | 2x difference |
| Max Output | 64K | 16K | |
| Tokenizer | cl100k_base | o200k_base |
Performance Benchmarks
| Metric | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | GPT-4o Mini | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Index | -- | 13 | N/A |
| Output Speed | -- | 61 tok/s | N/A |
| Value (Quality/$) | -- | 84.0 | Higher = 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).
| Usage | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | GPT-4o Mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
Single request 1K in / 300 out | $0.0075 | $0.0003 | GPT-4o Mini saves $0.0072 |
10 requests 10K in / 3K out | $0.075 | $0.0033 | GPT-4o Mini saves $0.072 |
100 requests 100K in / 30K out | $0.750 | $0.033 | GPT-4o Mini saves $0.717 |
1,000 requests 1M in / 300K out | $7.50 | $0.330 | GPT-4o Mini saves $7.17 |
10,000 requests 10M in / 3M out | $75.00 | $3.30 | GPT-4o Mini saves $71.70 |
1M requests/mo 1B in / 300M out | $7500.00 | $330.00 | GPT-4o Mini saves $7170.00 |
Pros & Cons
Claude Sonnet 4.5 Strengths
- +Larger context window (200K vs 128K)
- +Higher max output tokens
GPT-4o Mini Strengths
- +Cheaper input tokens
- +Cheaper output tokens
When to Use Each Model
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.5 for
- →Long documents, large codebases, or multi-turn conversations
- →Generating long-form content or detailed code
Choose GPT-4o Mini for
- →Budget-conscious projects where cost is the primary factor
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or GPT-4o Mini?
For input tokens, GPT-4o Mini is 20.0x cheaper at $0.15/1M tokens. For output tokens, GPT-4o Mini is 25.0x cheaper at $0.6/1M tokens. At typical usage (1M input + 300K output), Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $7.50 vs GPT-4o Mini at $0.330.
What's the context window difference?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 supports 200K context (200,000 tokens), while GPT-4o Mini supports 128K (128,000 tokens). Claude Sonnet 4.5 can handle 2x more context in a single request.
Which model has better benchmarks?
When should I choose Claude Sonnet 4.5 over GPT-4o Mini?
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.5 when you need: Larger context window (200K vs 128K), Higher max output tokens. Choose GPT-4o Mini when you need: Cheaper input tokens, Cheaper output tokens.
How much would 10,000 API requests cost?
At 1K input + 300 output tokens per request (typical chat): Claude Sonnet 4.5 = $75.00, GPT-4o Mini = $3.30. At 10K input + 1K output per request (longer conversations): Claude Sonnet 4.5 = $450.00, GPT-4o Mini = $21.00.
Related Comparisons
GPT-4o Mini vs GPT-5.4
$0.15 vs $2.5 per 1M input
Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs GPT-5.4
$3 vs $2.5 per 1M input
GPT-4o Mini vs GPT-5
$0.15 vs $1.25 per 1M input
Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs GPT-5
$3 vs $1.25 per 1M input
GPT-4o Mini vs GPT-5 Mini
$0.15 vs $0.25 per 1M input
Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs GPT-5 Mini
$3 vs $0.25 per 1M input