Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Haiku 4.5 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,438 vs 1,410), while Claude Haiku 4.5 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (58.2%), while GPT-5 mini is more budget-friendly at $2/1M per 1M output tokens, while Claude Haiku 4.5 provides faster response streaming (175 tok/s). Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
10 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Anthropic cheap/fast Claude SKU. Official Claude Platform list price $1/$5 per 1M tokens (Anthropic Haiku page).
Cost-efficient GPT-5 distill for high-volume agents.
Currently comparing Claude Haiku 4.5 vs GPT-5 mini. Alternative family tiers available.
Δ 28 Arena Elo pts
175 tok/s
$2 / 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 Haiku 4.5 | GPT-5 mini | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +28 | ||
| Coding Elo | +51 | ||
| LiveBench | +1.2% | ||
| SWE-bench | +5.8% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +2% | ||
| Time to first token | +45 ms | ||
| Output speed | 175 tok/s | 155 tok/s | +20 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.25/1M | +$0.75/1M | |
| Output price | +$3/1M | ||
| Context window | +200k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
GPT-5 mini is estimated to save $71.25/month ($855/year).
Higher SWE-bench (58.2%).
Lower output list price ($2/1M).
Lower TTFT (95 ms).
Larger window (400k).
Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Haiku 4.5).
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Higher SWE-bench (58.2%). |
| High-volume chat | GPT-5 mini | Lower output list price ($2/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Lower TTFT (95 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | GPT-5 mini | Larger window (400k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Haiku 4.5). |
$1/$5 hosted Claude vs a cheap long-context open sibling. The alternative-to-Sonnet pair that is honest.
Huge window, cheap hosted lists. The Haiku alternative that is actually open-weight.
Official Anthropic list $1/$5. This is the SKU behind “cheapest Claude alternative” that is still Claude.
High-volume agents that cannot pay Sol. Compare to Luna before you assume the new cheap SKU wins.
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
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