ClaudevsClaude

Claude Sonnet 5 vs Claude Sonnet 4.5

Side-by-side comparison of pricing, task quality, and projected cost at higher scale.

Pricing

Side-by-side pricing

Claude Sonnet 5

Mid-tier

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Mid-tier
Input $/MTok
$2.00
$3.00
Output $/MTok
$10.00
$15.00
Cache discount
90% off
90% off
Context
1,000K
200K

Quality

Task confidence comparison

Confidence score from zero to one hundred by task type, where higher is better.
Code Generation
93
vs
0
Code Review
96
vs
0
Summarization
91
vs
0
Q&A
89
vs
0
Extraction
88
vs
0
Reasoning
90
vs
0
Classification
86
vs
0
Creative Writing
87
vs
0
Claude Sonnet 5
Claude Sonnet 4.5

Guidance

When to use Claude Sonnet 5 vs Claude Sonnet 4.5

Choose Claude Sonnet 5 when...

  • -Cost matters: 33% cheaper on input tokens
  • -You need a larger context window (1,000K vs 200K)

Choose Claude Sonnet 4.5 when...

  • Similar performance; consider provider preference or ecosystem fit.

At scale

Cost at scale

Estimated cost assuming a seventy percent input and thirty percent output token split.
Claude Sonnet 5
Claude Sonnet 4.5
100K tokens
$0.44Cheaper
$0.66
1M tokens
$4.40Cheaper
$6.60
10M tokens
$44.00Cheaper
$66.00

FAQ

When should I use Claude Sonnet 5 instead of Claude Sonnet 4.5?

Claude Sonnet 5 and Claude Sonnet 4.5 perform similarly across all tracked tasks. Pick based on pricing and provider preference.

Is Claude Sonnet 4.5 cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 input costs $3.00/MTok, which is 50% more than Claude Sonnet 5 at $2.00/MTok.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Sonnet 5 and Claude Sonnet 4.5?

Claude Sonnet 5 has a 1,000K token context window. Claude Sonnet 4.5 has a 200K token context window.

Track your real costs

Comparisons show estimated costs at list price. The dashboard reveals your real spend and savings.