Claude Sonnet 4 vs Jamba 1.5 Large
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
- PriceJamba 1.5 Large
Jamba 1.5 Large is roughly 1.9× cheaper on output tokens ($8.00 vs $15.00 per 1M).
- Context windowJamba 1.5 Large
Jamba 1.5 Large accepts 256K tokens vs 200K, 1.3× the room for long documents and codebases.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesClaude Sonnet 4
Claude Sonnet 4 supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Jamba 1.5 Large.
- OpennessJamba 1.5 Large
Jamba 1.5 Large ships open weights (Jamba Open Model License); Claude Sonnet 4 is API-only.
On balance Jamba 1.5 Large edges ahead, winning 3 of 5 categories against Claude Sonnet 4's 1. Jamba 1.5 Large is roughly 1.9× cheaper on output tokens ($8.00 vs $15.00 per 1M). Jamba 1.5 Large accepts 256K tokens vs 200K, 1.3× the room for long documents and codebases.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, Claude Sonnet 4 handles text, vision while Jamba 1.5 Large handles text, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Jamba 1.5 Large ships open weights (Jamba Open Model License); Claude Sonnet 4 is API-only.
Claude Sonnet 4 is the newer of the two, released 9 months after Jamba 1.5 Large, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Claude Sonnet 4 is usually picked for coding llm and rag workloads, while Jamba 1.5 Large sees more deployments in long context and rag. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Claude Sonnet 4 | Jamba 1.5 Large |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic | AI21 |
| Released | May 2025 | Aug 2024 |
| Modalities | text, vision | text |
| Context window | 200K tokens | 256K tokens |
| Max output | , | , |
| Input · 1M | $3.00 / 1M tokens | $2.00 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $15.00 / 1M tokens | $8.00 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-03 | , |
| Open weights | No | Yes (Jamba Open Model License) |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
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$31.50 vs $18.00
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$315 vs $180
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$540 vs $348
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $31.50 vs $18.00 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $315 vs $180 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $540 vs $348 per month, model B comes out ahead.
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Claude Sonnet 4$1.05
- Jamba 1.5 Large$0.600
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
- SWE-bench Verified65.0
Claude Sonnet 4 fits when…
- Solid all-rounder
- Mature deployment ecosystem
- Multimodal needs covering vision.
Jamba 1.5 Large fits when…
- 256k context
- Efficient long-context inference
- Open weights
- Cost-sensitive workloads, 1.9× cheaper than Claude Sonnet 4 on output tokens.
- Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (Jamba Open Model License).
Consider Claude Opus 4.7
Anthropic's mid-2026 flagship, ahead on SWE-bench, agent reliability, and writing quality.
Frequently asked
Is Claude Sonnet 4 or Jamba 1.5 Large cheaper?
Jamba 1.5 Large is cheaper at $8.00 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $15.00 / 1M tokens for Claude Sonnet 4.Which has the larger context window?
Jamba 1.5 Large accepts 256K tokens vs 200K for Claude Sonnet 4.Is Claude Sonnet 4 or Jamba 1.5 Large better for coding?
Both Claude Sonnet 4 and Jamba 1.5 Large 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?
Jamba 1.5 Large ships open weights (Jamba Open Model License). Claude Sonnet 4 is API-only.When were Claude Sonnet 4 and Jamba 1.5 Large released?
Claude Sonnet 4 was released by Anthropic on 2025-05-22. Jamba 1.5 Large was released by AI21 on 2024-08-22.
The week's AI launches, in your inbox.
One short email every Friday, new models, leaks, and quietly-shipped APIs you missed.