Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Gemini 2.5 Pro
Claude 3.5 Sonnet (2024) and Gemini 2.5 Pro (2025) are frontier-tier reasoning models from Anthropic and Google DeepMind. Claude 3.5 Sonnet ships a 200k-token context window, while Gemini 2.5 Pro ships a 1m-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Gemini 2.5 Pro leads by 9 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Gemini 2.5 Pro fits 5x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and Claude 3.5 Sonnet for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Gemini 2.5 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 1m |
| Cheapest output | $15/1M tokens | $10/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 6 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 7 shared | MMLU PRO leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Claude 3.5 Sonnet for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Gemini 2.5 Pro holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 9 points.
- Gemini 2.5 Pro has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Gemini 2.5 Pro has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $10/1M tokens.
- Gemini 2.5 Pro uniquely exposes Tool use in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Gemini 2.5 Pro 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 3.5 Sonnet
$6,150
Cheapest tracked route/tier: GCP Vertex AI
Gemini 2.5 Pro
$3,500
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Google AI Studio <=200K tokens
Estimated monthly gap: $2,650. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on GCP Vertex AI and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Gemini 2.5 Pro is $5/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Gemini 2.5 Pro adds Tool use in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on GCP Vertex AI and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet is $5/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Tool use before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-06-20 | 2025-06-17 |
| Context window | 200k | 1m |
| Parameters | 70B | — |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Openness | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Weights | Not released | Not released |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-04 | 2025-01 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Gemini 2.5 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $3/1M tokens |
|
| Output price | $15/1M tokens |
|
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Gemini 2.5 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | Yes |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Gemini 2.5 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 77.2 | 86.2 |
| SWE-bench Verified | 49.0 | 63.8 |
| LiveCodeBench | 48.7 | 75.6 |
| Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding | 68.3 | 81.7 |
| HumanEval | 92.0 | 93.1 |
| Chatbot Arena | 1340.0 | 1398.0 |
| Aider Polyglot | 51.6 | 83.1 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has Claude 3.5 Sonnet at 77.2 and Gemini 2.5 Pro at 86.2, with Gemini 2.5 Pro ahead by 9 points; SWE-bench Verified has Claude 3.5 Sonnet at 49 and Gemini 2.5 Pro at 63.8, with Gemini 2.5 Pro ahead by 14.8 points; LiveCodeBench has Claude 3.5 Sonnet at 48.7 and Gemini 2.5 Pro at 75.6, with Gemini 2.5 Pro ahead by 26.9 points. The largest visible gap is 26.9 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 tool use: Gemini 2.5 Pro. 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 3.5 Sonnet lists $3/1M input and $15/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Gemini 2.5 Pro lists tiered pricing: <=200K tokens is $1.25/1M input and $10/1M output; >200K tokens is $2.50/1M input and $15/1M output. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Gemini 2.5 Pro lower by about $2.72 per million blended tokens. For tiered rows, this cheapest-track view can understate interactive or fast-lane spend, so compare the tier you will actually use. Availability is 6 providers versus 4, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Claude 3.5 Sonnet when coding workflow support and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Gemini 2.5 Pro when coding workflow support, larger context windows, and lower cheapest-tier 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 3.5 Sonnet or Gemini 2.5 Pro?
Gemini 2.5 Pro supports 1m tokens, while Claude 3.5 Sonnet supports 200k 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 3.5 Sonnet or Gemini 2.5 Pro?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet lists $3/1M input and $15/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. Gemini 2.5 Pro lists tiered pricing: <=200K tokens is $1.25/1M input and $10/1M output; >200K tokens is $2.50/1M input and $15/1M output. Compare the tier you will actually use; cheap async pricing can overstate savings for interactive workflows. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Gemini 2.5 Pro open source?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is listed under Proprietary. Gemini 2.5 Pro 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 3.5 Sonnet or Gemini 2.5 Pro?
Both Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Gemini 2.5 Pro expose vision. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Which is better for multimodal input, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Gemini 2.5 Pro?
Both Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Gemini 2.5 Pro expose multimodal input. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Where can I run Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Gemini 2.5 Pro?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is available on GCP Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock, Anthropic, OpenRouter, and Microsoft Foundry. Gemini 2.5 Pro is available on Google AI Studio, GCP Vertex AI, OpenRouter, and Vercel AI Gateway. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-26. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.