Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs GPT-4o Mini (07-18)
Claude 3.5 Sonnet (2024) and GPT-4o Mini (07-18) (2024) are frontier reasoning models from Anthropic and OpenAI. Claude 3.5 Sonnet ships a 200k-token context window, while GPT-4o Mini (07-18) ships a 128k-token context window. On Aider Polyglot, Claude 3.5 Sonnet leads by 48 pts. On pricing, GPT-4o Mini (07-18) costs $0.15/1M 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.
GPT-4o Mini (07-18) is ~1900% cheaper at $0.15/1M; pay for Claude 3.5 Sonnet only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-4o Mini (07-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents | multimodal apps and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $15/1M tokens | $0.60/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 6 tracked | 3 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | Aider Polyglot leader | 2 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet holds a shared-benchmark lead on Aider Polyglot, ahead by 48 points.
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet uniquely exposes Multimodal, Reasoning, and Function calling in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Claude 3.5 Sonnet for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- GPT-4o Mini (07-18) holds a shared-benchmark lead on BigCodeBench, ahead by 1.5 points.
- GPT-4o Mini (07-18) has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.60/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags GPT-4o Mini (07-18) 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
GPT-4o Mini (07-18)
$270
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenAI API
Estimated monthly gap: $5,880. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Replicate API; start route-level A/B tests there.
- GPT-4o Mini (07-18) is $14.40/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Multimodal, Reasoning, and Function calling before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Replicate API; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet is $14.40/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet adds Multimodal, Reasoning, and Function calling in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-06-20 | 2024-07-18 |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Parameters | 70B | — |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Openness | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-04 | 2023-10 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-4o Mini (07-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $3/1M tokens | $0.15/1M tokens |
| Output price | $15/1M tokens | $0.60/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-4o Mini (07-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Function calling | Yes | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| 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 | GPT-4o Mini (07-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Aider Polyglot | 51.6 | 3.6 |
| BigCodeBench | 44.6 | 46.1 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Aider Polyglot has Claude 3.5 Sonnet at 51.6 and GPT-4o Mini (07-18) at 3.6, with Claude 3.5 Sonnet ahead by 48 points; BigCodeBench has Claude 3.5 Sonnet at 44.6 and GPT-4o Mini (07-18) at 46.1, with GPT-4o Mini (07-18) ahead by 1.5 points. The largest visible gap is 48 points on Aider Polyglot, 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 multimodal input: Claude 3.5 Sonnet, reasoning mode: Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and function calling: Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Both models share vision, structured outputs, and code execution, 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 GPT-4o Mini (07-18) lists $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts GPT-4o Mini (07-18) lower by about $6.31 per million blended tokens. Availability is 6 providers versus 3, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Claude 3.5 Sonnet when coding workflow support, larger context windows, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose GPT-4o Mini (07-18) when coding workflow support 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 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o Mini (07-18)?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet supports 200k tokens, while GPT-4o Mini (07-18) supports 128k 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 GPT-4o Mini (07-18)?
GPT-4o Mini (07-18) is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Claude 3.5 Sonnet costs $3/1M input and $15/1M output tokens. GPT-4o Mini (07-18) costs $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o Mini (07-18) open source?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is listed under Proprietary. GPT-4o Mini (07-18) 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 GPT-4o Mini (07-18)?
Both Claude 3.5 Sonnet and GPT-4o Mini (07-18) 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 GPT-4o Mini (07-18)?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Claude 3.5 Sonnet and GPT-4o Mini (07-18)?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is available on GCP Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock, Anthropic, OpenRouter, and Microsoft Foundry. GPT-4o Mini (07-18) is available on OpenAI API, OpenRouter, and Replicate API. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-06-15. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.