text model comparison
Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-6 Sol
Claude Sonnet 5 and GPT-6 Sol are both current text models, from Anthropic and OpenAI. Both cost $2 per 1M input tokens. On Arena Text, Claude Sonnet 5 scores 1461 Elo and GPT-6 Sol 1456 Elo (Arena, measured October 8, 2026). GPT-6 Sol has the larger context window, 1,050,000 vs 1,000,000 tokens.
Data verified October 12, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-12
Side by side
Standard-tier prices in effect today. The better value in each row is highlighted.
| Fact | Claude Sonnet 5 | GPT-6 Sol |
|---|---|---|
| Price per 1M input tokens | $2 | $2 |
| Price per 1M output tokens | $10 | $10 |
| Cost of 10M input and 2M output tokens | $40 | $40 |
| Arena Text | 1461 Elo (#25 of 39) (better) | 1456 Elo (#26 of 39) |
| GPQA Diamond | 90.5% (#23 of 37) | 94.3% (#7 of 37) (better) |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) | 65.6% (#24 of 37) | 89.8% (#5 of 37) (better) |
| SimpleQA Verified | 33.7% (#27 of 34) | 60.7% (#14 of 34) (better) |
| LiveBench Overall | 74.85 points (#4 of 5) | Not measured |
| Provider | Anthropic | OpenAI |
| Release date | June 30, 2026 | September 22, 2026 |
| Access | API only | API only |
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,050,000 tokens |
| Max output | 128,000 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Input | text | text, image |
| Output | text | text |
Scores:Arena · 2026-10-12Epoch AI · 2026-10-12LiveBench · 2026-06-25
When to choose each
Claude Sonnet 5
Best for
- Agentic coding evaluations with current introductory API pricing
Watch out for
- The launch price is introductory through 2026-08-31; refresh pricing before evaluating workloads after that date
GPT-6 Sol
Best for
- General production work that does not need Astra's capability or price
- Workloads kept under the 272,000-token threshold
Watch out for
- Prompts over 272,000 input tokens are rebilled for the whole request at $4 input and $15 output, so crossing the line roughly doubles input cost
- GPT-6.1 Sol lists the same base rates with half the cached-input price, so there is little reason to pick this one for a cache-heavy workload
Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-6 Sol FAQ
Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-6 Sol?
Both cost $2 per 1M input tokens. For 10M input and 2M output tokens, Claude Sonnet 5 costs $40 and GPT-6 Sol $40 at standard rates.
Which scores higher on independent benchmarks, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-6 Sol?
Claude Sonnet 5 leads on Arena Text, 1461 Elo to 1456 Elo; GPT-6 Sol leads on GPQA Diamond, 94.3% to 90.5%; GPT-6 Sol leads on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2), 89.8% to 65.6%. Scores are independent evaluations, not either vendor's launch figures.
Which has the larger context window, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-6 Sol?
GPT-6 Sol has the larger context window, 1,050,000 vs 1,000,000 tokens.
Related comparisons
Production evaluation
Choosing between Claude Sonnet 5 and GPT-6 Sol?
Public benchmarks narrow the shortlist. We run both on your own tasks, data and cost limits, then build the routing and review controls to run the winner in production.
- A head-to-head evaluation on your real workload
- Routing between models by cost and difficulty