tokevenClaude Sonnet 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 5
Side-by-side comparison of pricing, task quality, and projected cost at higher scale.
Pricing
Side-by-side pricing
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Mid-tierClaude Sonnet 5
Mid-tierQuality
Task confidence comparison
Guidance
When to use Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 5
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 when...
- -You need strong extraction (confidence 71 vs 70)
- -You need strong creative writing (confidence 69 vs 62)
Choose Claude Sonnet 5 when...
- -You need strong code review (confidence 96 vs 95)
- -You need strong q&a (confidence 89 vs 88)
- -You need strong reasoning (confidence 89 vs 85)
- -You need strong classification (confidence 86 vs 84)
- -Cost matters: 33% cheaper on input tokens
At scale
Cost at scale
FAQ
When should I use Claude Sonnet 4.6 instead of Claude Sonnet 5?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 outperforms Claude Sonnet 5 for Extraction, Creative Writing. It costs $3.00/$15.00 per million tokens (input/output).
Is Claude Sonnet 5 cheaper than Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Yes. Claude Sonnet 5 input costs $2.00/MTok vs $3.00/MTok for Claude Sonnet 4.6, saving 33% on input.
What are the context window sizes for Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Claude Sonnet 5?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 has a 1M token context window. Claude Sonnet 5 has a 1M token context window.
Go deeper on either model
Per-call cost calculators, provider lineups, and price history for both models on this page.
Other comparisons
How Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Claude Sonnet 5 stack up against the rest of the field.
Track your real costs
Comparisons show estimated costs at list price. The dashboard reveals your real spend and savings.