Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-5.4
Complete pricing and performance comparison between Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.6 and OpenAI's GPT-5.4.
Quick Verdict
Cheaper
GPT-5.4 (input) / Claude Sonnet 4.6 (output)
Input: 1.2x diff, Output: 1.0x diff
Larger Context
GPT-5.4
1.1M vs 200K
Higher Quality
GPT-5.4
Score: 57 vs 44
Faster
GPT-5.4
75 vs 54 tok/s
Pricing Comparison
| Spec | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | GPT-5.4 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic | OpenAI | |
| Input / 1M tokens | $3 | $2.5 | GPT-5.4 is 17% more expensive |
| Output / 1M tokens | $15 | $15 | Same |
| Context Window | 200K | 1.1M | 5x difference |
| Max Output | 64K | 128K | |
| Tokenizer | cl100k_base | o200k_base |
Performance Benchmarks
| Metric | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | GPT-5.4 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Index | 44 | 57 | GPT-5.4 |
| Output Speed | 54 tok/s | 75 tok/s | GPT-5.4 |
| Time to First Token | 1.17s | 169.23s | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Value (Quality/$) | 14.8 | 22.8 | 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 4.6 | GPT-5.4 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
Single request 1K in / 300 out | $0.0075 | $0.0070 | Same |
10 requests 10K in / 3K out | $0.075 | $0.070 | GPT-5.4 saves $0.0050 |
100 requests 100K in / 30K out | $0.750 | $0.700 | GPT-5.4 saves $0.050 |
1,000 requests 1M in / 300K out | $7.50 | $7.00 | GPT-5.4 saves $0.500 |
10,000 requests 10M in / 3M out | $75.00 | $70.00 | GPT-5.4 saves $5.00 |
1M requests/mo 1B in / 300M out | $7500.00 | $7000.00 | GPT-5.4 saves $500.00 |
Pros & Cons
Claude Sonnet 4.6 Strengths
- +Lower latency (faster first token)
GPT-5.4 Strengths
- +Cheaper input tokens
- +Larger context window (1.1M vs 200K)
- +Higher max output tokens
- +Faster output (75 vs 54 tok/s)
- +Higher quality score (57 vs 44)
When to Use Each Model
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 for
- →Projects already integrated with Anthropic's ecosystem
Choose GPT-5.4 for
- →Long documents, large codebases, or multi-turn conversations
- →Generating long-form content or detailed code
- →Tasks requiring maximum accuracy and reasoning
- →Real-time applications, chat, or autocomplete
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or GPT-5.4?
For input tokens, GPT-5.4 is 1.2x cheaper at $2.5/1M tokens. For output tokens, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 1.0x cheaper at $15/1M tokens. At typical usage (1M input + 300K output), Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $7.50 vs GPT-5.4 at $7.00.
What's the context window difference?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 supports 200K context (200,000 tokens), while GPT-5.4 supports 1.1M (1,050,000 tokens). GPT-5.4 can handle 5x more context in a single request.
Which model has better benchmarks?
Quality Index: Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 44 vs GPT-5.4 at 57. Speed: Claude Sonnet 4.6 generates 54 tok/s vs GPT-5.4 at 75 tok/s. Time to first token: Claude Sonnet 4.6 at 1.17s vs GPT-5.4 at 169.23s.
When should I choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 over GPT-5.4?
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 when you need: Lower latency (faster first token). Choose GPT-5.4 when you need: Cheaper input tokens, Larger context window (1.1M vs 200K), Higher max output tokens, Faster output (75 vs 54 tok/s), Higher quality score (57 vs 44).
How much would 10,000 API requests cost?
At 1K input + 300 output tokens per request (typical chat): Claude Sonnet 4.6 = $75.00, GPT-5.4 = $70.00. At 10K input + 1K output per request (longer conversations): Claude Sonnet 4.6 = $450.00, GPT-5.4 = $400.00.