Claude 3.7 Sonnet vs Grok-3
Claude 3.7 Sonnet (2024) and Grok-3 (2025) are frontier-tier reasoning models from Anthropic and xAI. Claude 3.7 Sonnet ships a 200k-token context window, while Grok-3 ships a 131k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Claude 3.7 Sonnet leads by 0.4 pts. On pricing, Grok-3 costs $0.80/1M input tokens versus $3/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Grok-3 is ~275% cheaper at $0.80/1M; pay for Claude 3.7 Sonnet only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude 3.7 Sonnet | Grok-3 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 200k | 131k |
| Cheapest output | $15/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 6 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | MMLU PRO leader | 5 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude 3.7 Sonnet holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 0.4 points.
- Claude 3.7 Sonnet has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Claude 3.7 Sonnet has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Claude 3.7 Sonnet uniquely exposes Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Claude 3.7 Sonnet for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Grok-3 holds a shared-benchmark lead on LiveCodeBench, ahead by 10.5 points.
- Grok-3 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $2.40/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Grok-3 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Claude 3.7 Sonnet
$6,150
Cheapest tracked route/tier: GCP Vertex AI
Grok-3
$1,240
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Chutes AI
Estimated monthly gap: $4,910. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Grok-3 is $12.60/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Claude 3.7 Sonnet is $12.60/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Claude 3.7 Sonnet adds Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-03-04 | 2025-02-17 |
| Context window | 200k | 131k |
| Parameters | — | — |
| Architecture | decoder only | - |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Openness | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use with conditions |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-11 | 2025-04 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude 3.7 Sonnet | Grok-3 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $3/1M tokens | $0.80/1M tokens |
| Output price | $15/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude 3.7 Sonnet | Grok-3 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 3.7 Sonnet | Grok-3 |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 80.3 | 79.9 |
| LiveCodeBench | 68.9 | 79.4 |
| Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding | 75.0 | 78.0 |
| HumanEval | 93.0 | 94.5 |
| Aider Polyglot | 64.9 | 53.3 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has Claude 3.7 Sonnet at 80.3 and Grok-3 at 79.9, with Claude 3.7 Sonnet ahead by 0.4 points; LiveCodeBench has Claude 3.7 Sonnet at 68.9 and Grok-3 at 79.4, with Grok-3 ahead by 10.5 points; Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding has Claude 3.7 Sonnet at 75 and Grok-3 at 78, with Grok-3 ahead by 3 points. The largest visible gap is 10.5 points on LiveCodeBench, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on code execution: Claude 3.7 Sonnet. Both models share vision, multimodal input, reasoning mode, and function calling, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, Claude 3.7 Sonnet lists $3/1M input and $15/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Grok-3 lists $0.80/1M input and $2.40/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Grok-3 lower by about $5.32 per million blended tokens. Availability is 6 providers versus 4, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Claude 3.7 Sonnet when coding workflow support, larger context windows, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Grok-3 when vision-heavy evaluation and lower input-token cost are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Claude 3.7 Sonnet or Grok-3?
Claude 3.7 Sonnet supports 200k tokens, while Grok-3 supports 131k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Claude 3.7 Sonnet or Grok-3?
Grok-3 is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Claude 3.7 Sonnet costs $3/1M input and $15/1M output tokens. Grok-3 costs $0.80/1M input and $2.40/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Claude 3.7 Sonnet or Grok-3 open source?
Claude 3.7 Sonnet is listed under Proprietary. Grok-3 is listed under Proprietary. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for vision, Claude 3.7 Sonnet or Grok-3?
Both Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Grok-3 expose vision. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is better for multimodal input, Claude 3.7 Sonnet or Grok-3?
Both Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Grok-3 expose multimodal input. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Where can I run Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Grok-3?
Claude 3.7 Sonnet is available on Snowflake Cortex, GCP Vertex AI, Replicate API, OpenRouter, and AWS Bedrock. Grok-3 is available on OpenRouter, xAI Console, Chutes AI, and Microsoft Foundry. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-20. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.