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 1,335), while Claude Sonnet 4.5 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (70.1%), while GPT-4o is more budget-friendly at $10/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
9 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Workhorse Anthropic model: most of Opus coding quality at a mid-tier price.
Previous OpenAI flagship. Still a common compare baseline on legacy pages.
Currently comparing Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs GPT-4o. Alternative family tiers available.
Δ 189 Arena Elo pts
110 tok/s
$10 / 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 Sonnet 4.5 | GPT-4o | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +189 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +13.2% | ||
| SWE-bench | +15.3% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +7% | ||
| Time to first token | +60 ms | ||
| Output speed | 88 tok/s | 110 tok/s | +22 tok/s |
| Input price | $2.5/1M | +$0.5/1M | |
| Output price | +$5/1M | ||
| Context window | +72k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
GPT-4o is estimated to save $92.50/month ($1,110/year).
Higher SWE-bench (70.1%).
Lower output list price ($10/1M).
Lower TTFT (180 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 | GPT-4o | Lower output list price ($10/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | GPT-4o | Lower TTFT (180 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Larger window (200k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Sonnet 4.5). |
Most of Opus 4.5 coding at a mid-tier price. Sonnet 5 replaced it as the buy; 4.5 remains a compare baseline.
Deprecated for buying. Kept because “4o vs sonnet” is still a typed query.
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry