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Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Claude Opus 4.7

Pricing, context window, and benchmark comparison · Last updated April 2026

Quick Verdict

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is cheaper than Claude Opus 4.7 at $3.00/1M/1M vs $5.00/1M/1M input tokens — a 1.7x cost difference. Claude Opus 4.7 scores higher on quality benchmarks (ELO 1415). Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 for cost-sensitive workloads; choose Claude Opus 4.7 for maximum quality.

Detailed Comparison

MetricClaude Sonnet 4.6Claude Opus 4.7
Input Price / 1M tokens$3.00/1MCheaper$5.00/1M
Output Price / 1M tokens$15.00/1MCheaper$25.00/1M
Context Window1M1M
ELO Score (LMSYS)13901415Smarter
Open Source
Free Tier
Release Date2025-102026-04

Which is cheaper: Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Claude Opus 4.7?

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the cheaper option at $3.00/1M per 1M input tokens, compared to $5.00/1M for Claude Opus 4.7. That is a 1.7x cost difference on input tokens. Output pricing follows a similar pattern: Claude Sonnet 4.6 charges $15.00/1M/1M vs $25.00/1M/1M for Claude Opus 4.7.

Which has better quality: Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Claude Opus 4.7?

Based on LMSYS Chatbot Arena rankings, Claude Opus 4.7 achieves a higher ELO score (1415 vs 1390), suggesting stronger performance on open-ended tasks. Claude Sonnet 4.6 excels at best combination of speed and intelligence in the claude family. Claude Opus 4.7 is known for step-change improvement in agentic coding over opus 4.6.

Which should you choose: Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Claude Opus 4.7?

Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 if:
  • Best combination of speed and intelligence in the Claude family
  • 1M token context window at standard pricing
  • Extended thinking and adaptive thinking supported
Choose Claude Opus 4.7 if:
  • Step-change improvement in agentic coding over Opus 4.6
  • 1M token context window at standard pricing
  • 128K max output tokens

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper: Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Claude Opus 4.7?

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is cheaper at $3.00/1M per 1M input tokens, making it 1.7x more affordable.

Which has better quality: Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Claude Opus 4.7?

Claude Opus 4.7 scores higher on the LMSYS Chatbot Arena with an ELO of 1415, suggesting better overall quality for most tasks.

Which has a larger context window: Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Claude Opus 4.7?

Both Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Claude Opus 4.7 have the same context window.

Should I choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Claude Opus 4.7?

Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 if cost is the priority. Choose Claude Opus 4.7 if benchmark quality is most important. Consider your specific use case: Claude Sonnet 4.6 is best for coding and function-calling, while Claude Opus 4.7 excels at coding and reasoning.

Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Claude Opus 4.7 open source?

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is proprietary. Claude Opus 4.7 is proprietary.

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