Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Gemma 4 26B A4B IT
Claude Haiku 4.5 (2025) and Gemma 4 26B A4B IT (2026) are general-purpose language models from Anthropic and Google DeepMind. Claude Haiku 4.5 ships a 200k-token context window, while Gemma 4 26B A4B IT ships a 256k-token context window. On pricing, Gemma 4 26B A4B IT costs $0.06/1M input tokens versus $0.80/1M 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.
Gemma 4 26B A4B IT is ~1233% cheaper at $0.06/1M; pay for Claude Haiku 4.5 only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Gemma 4 26B A4B IT |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production | multimodal apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 200k | 256k |
| Cheapest output | $4/1M tokens | $0.33/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 8 tracked | 7 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude Haiku 4.5 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 uniquely exposes Tool use and Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Claude Haiku 4.5 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Gemma 4 26B A4B IT has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Gemma 4 26B A4B IT has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.33/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Gemma 4 26B A4B IT 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 Haiku 4.5
$1,640
Cheapest tracked route/tier: AWS Bedrock
Gemma 4 26B A4B IT
$131
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $1,510. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on GCP Vertex AI, OpenRouter, and Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Gemma 4 26B A4B IT is $3.67/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Tool use and Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on GCP Vertex AI, OpenRouter, and Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 is $3.67/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 adds Tool use and Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-10-01 | 2026-03-31 |
| Context window | 200k | 256k |
| Parameters | — | 26B |
| Architecture | decoder only | - |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0(OSI) |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use allowed |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-02 | 2025-01 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Gemma 4 26B A4B IT |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.80/1M tokens | $0.06/1M tokens |
| Output price | $4/1M tokens | $0.33/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Gemma 4 26B A4B IT |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on tool use: Claude Haiku 4.5 and code execution: Claude Haiku 4.5. Both models share vision, multimodal input, function calling, and structured outputs, 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 Haiku 4.5 lists $0.80/1M input and $4/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Gemma 4 26B A4B IT lists $0.06/1M input and $0.33/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Gemma 4 26B A4B IT lower by about $1.62 per million blended tokens. Availability is 8 providers versus 7, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Claude Haiku 4.5 when coding workflow support and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Gemma 4 26B A4B IT when long-context analysis, larger context windows, 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. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Gemma 4 26B A4B IT?
Gemma 4 26B A4B IT supports 256k tokens, while Claude Haiku 4.5 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 Haiku 4.5 or Gemma 4 26B A4B IT?
Gemma 4 26B A4B IT is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $0.80/1M input and $4/1M output tokens. Gemma 4 26B A4B IT costs $0.06/1M input and $0.33/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Claude Haiku 4.5 or Gemma 4 26B A4B IT open source?
Claude Haiku 4.5 is listed under Proprietary. Gemma 4 26B A4B IT is listed under Apache 2.0. 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 Haiku 4.5 or Gemma 4 26B A4B IT?
Both Claude Haiku 4.5 and Gemma 4 26B A4B IT 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 Haiku 4.5 or Gemma 4 26B A4B IT?
Both Claude Haiku 4.5 and Gemma 4 26B A4B IT 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 Haiku 4.5 and Gemma 4 26B A4B IT?
Claude Haiku 4.5 is available on Microsoft Foundry, Anthropic, Snowflake Cortex, AWS Bedrock, and GCP Vertex AI. Gemma 4 26B A4B IT is available on Cloudflare Workers AI, Google AI Studio, GCP Vertex AI, OpenRouter, and Together AI. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-04. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.