Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 1, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Sonnet 4.5 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,524 vs 1,280), while Claude Sonnet 4.5 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (70.1%), while Claude 3.5 Sonnet is more budget-friendly at $15/1M per 1M output tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 provides faster response streaming (88 tok/s). Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
6 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
2024 workhorse. Still a high-intent compare against GPT-4o.
Workhorse Anthropic model: most of Opus coding quality at a mid-tier price.
Δ 244 Arena Elo pts
88 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 Sonnet 4.5 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +244 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +15.3% | ||
| SWE-bench | +21.1% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +15.2% | ||
| Time to first token | +40 ms | ||
| Output speed | 80 tok/s | 88 tok/s | +8 tok/s |
| Input price | — | ||
| Output price | — | ||
| Context window | — |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Higher SWE-bench (70.1%).
Lower output list price ($15/1M).
Lower TTFT (240 ms).
Larger window (200k).
Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Sonnet 4.5).
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Higher SWE-bench (70.1%). |
| High-volume chat | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Lower output list price ($15/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Lower TTFT (240 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Larger window (200k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Sonnet 4.5). |
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
