Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 1, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Opus 4.5 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,568 vs 1,280), while Claude Opus 4.5 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (76.8%), while Claude 3.5 Sonnet is more budget-friendly at $15/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
8 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
2024 workhorse. Still a high-intent compare against GPT-4o.
Anthropic frontier coding and computer-use model. SWE-bench leader on the official mini-SWE-agent harness in the Feb 2026 refresh.
Simulate accuracy gains vs added response time & token cost
Reasoning models “think before answering” by generating internal reasoning tokens. Higher effort improves math, coding, and logic accuracy, but increases response delay and token costs.
Δ 288 Arena Elo pts
80 tok/s
$15 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Claude Opus 4.5 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +288 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +19.1% | ||
| SWE-bench | +27.8% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +19.1% | ||
| Time to first token | +100 ms | ||
| Output speed | 80 tok/s | 62 tok/s | +18 tok/s |
| Input price | +$12/1M | ||
| Output price | +$60/1M | ||
| Context window | — |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is estimated to save $1,320.00/month ($15,840/year).
Higher SWE-bench (76.8%).
Lower output list price ($15/1M).
Lower TTFT (280 ms).
Larger window (200k).
Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Opus 4.5).
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Opus 4.5 | Higher SWE-bench (76.8%). |
| High-volume chat | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Lower output list price ($15/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Lower TTFT (280 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Larger window (200k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Opus 4.5 | Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Opus 4.5). |
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
