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Claude Opus 4 vs Claude Sonnet 4

A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.

Updated

Claude Opus 4 specs · Claude Sonnet 4 specs
Verdict by category
  • PriceClaude Sonnet 4

    Claude Sonnet 4 is roughly 5.0× cheaper on output tokens ($15.00 vs $75.00 per 1M).

  • Context windowTie

    Both ship a 200K-token context window.

  • BenchmarksClaude Opus 4

    Claude Opus 4 leads in 1 of 1 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on SWE-bench Verified (real-world software engineering), where it scores 72.5 vs 65.0.

  • ModalitiesTie

    Both handle text, vision.

  • OpennessTie

    Both are closed-weight, API-only.

It's a genuine coin-flip between Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4: 1 category wins each, with the rest tied. Claude Sonnet 4 is roughly 5.0× cheaper on output tokens ($15.00 vs $75.00 per 1M). Both ship a 200K-token context window.

Claude Opus 4 leads in 1 of 1 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on SWE-bench Verified (real-world software engineering), where it scores 72.5 vs 65.0. Both target the same set of modalities (text, vision), so the deciding factors are price, context, and raw quality. Both are closed-weight, API-only.

Both shipped within roughly a month of each other in 2025, so they share the same generation of training data and tooling. Claude Opus 4 is usually picked for coding llm and coding agent workloads, while Claude Sonnet 4 sees more deployments in coding llm and rag. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.

Side-by-side specs

SpecClaude Opus 4Claude Sonnet 4
ProviderAnthropicAnthropic
ReleasedMay 2025May 2025
Modalitiestext, visiontext, vision
Context window200K tokens200K tokens
Max output,,
Input · 1M$15.00 / 1M tokens$3.00 / 1M tokens
Output · 1M$75.00 / 1M tokens$15.00 / 1M tokens
Knowledge cutoff2025-032025-03
Open weightsNoNo
API availableYesYes

Pricing at scale

What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day$158 vs $31.50
  • Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$1,575 vs $315
  • RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$2,700 vs $540

Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $158 vs $31.50 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $1,575 vs $315 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $2,700 vs $540 per month, model B comes out ahead.

Price calculator

Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • Claude Opus 4$5.25
  • Claude Sonnet 4$1.05

Benchmarks compared

Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.

Claude Opus 4Claude Sonnet 4
  • HumanEval95.0
  • SWE-bench Verified72.565.0
Pick Claude Opus 4 if

Claude Opus 4 fits when…

  • Set the SWE-bench bar at launch
  • Excellent for writing and code
  • Strong long-context handling
Pick Claude Sonnet 4 if

Claude Sonnet 4 fits when…

  • Solid all-rounder
  • Mature deployment ecosystem
  • Cost-sensitive workloads, 5.0× cheaper than Claude Opus 4 on output tokens.
Don't want either?

Consider Claude Opus 4.7

Anthropic's mid-2026 flagship, ahead on SWE-bench, agent reliability, and writing quality.

See Claude Opus 4.7 specsClaude Opus 4 vs Claude Opus 4.7Claude Sonnet 4 vs Claude Opus 4.7

Frequently asked

  • Is Claude Opus 4 or Claude Sonnet 4 cheaper?
    Claude Sonnet 4 is cheaper at $15.00 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $75.00 / 1M tokens for Claude Opus 4.
  • Which has the larger context window?
    Both Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4 ship a 200K-token context window.
  • Is Claude Opus 4 or Claude Sonnet 4 better for coding?
    Both Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4 are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.
  • Are either of these models open source?
    Neither model ships open weights, both are accessible only via their respective providers' APIs.
  • When were Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4 released?
    Claude Opus 4 was released by Anthropic on 2025-05-22. Claude Sonnet 4 was released by Anthropic on 2025-05-22.
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