LLM Reference

Claude Opus 4.5 vs Gemini 2.5 Pro

Claude Opus 4.5 (2025) and Gemini 2.5 Pro (2025) are frontier-tier reasoning models from Anthropic and Google DeepMind. Claude Opus 4.5 ships a 200k-token context window, while Gemini 2.5 Pro ships a 1m-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Claude Opus 4.5 leads by 2.7 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 Opus 4.5 for tighter calls.

Decision scorecard

Local evidence first
SignalClaude Opus 4.5Gemini 2.5 Pro
Best forreasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agentsreasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents
Decision fitCoding, RAG, and AgentsCoding, RAG, and Agents
Context window200k1m
Cheapest output$25/1M tokens$10/1M tokens
Provider routes6 tracked4 tracked
Shared benchmarksMMLU PRO leader6 rows

Decision tradeoffs

Choose Claude Opus 4.5 when...
  • Claude Opus 4.5 holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 2.7 points.
  • Claude Opus 4.5 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
  • Local decision data tags Claude Opus 4.5 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Choose Gemini 2.5 Pro when...
  • Gemini 2.5 Pro holds a shared-benchmark lead on Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding, ahead by 1 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.
  • 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.

Lower estimate Gemini 2.5 Pro

Claude Opus 4.5

$10,250

Cheapest tracked route/tier: Microsoft Foundry

Gemini 2.5 Pro

$3,500

Cheapest tracked route/tier: Google AI Studio <=200K tokens

Estimated monthly gap: $6,750. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.

Switch friction

Claude Opus 4.5 -> Gemini 2.5 Pro
  • Provider overlap exists on GCP Vertex AI, OpenRouter, and Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • Gemini 2.5 Pro is $15/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
Gemini 2.5 Pro -> Claude Opus 4.5
  • Provider overlap exists on GCP Vertex AI, OpenRouter, and Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • Claude Opus 4.5 is $15/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.

Specs

Specification
Released2025-11-012025-06-17
Context window200k1m
Parameters
Architecturedecoder onlydecoder only
LicenseProprietaryProprietary
OpennessProprietaryProprietary
Commercial useCommercial use with conditionsCommercial use with conditions
Knowledge cutoff2025-122025-01

Pricing and availability

Pricing attributeClaude Opus 4.5Gemini 2.5 Pro
Input price$5/1M tokens
<=200K tokens
$1.25/1M tokens
Standard Gemini 2.5 Pro pricing for prompts up to 200K tokens.
>200K tokens
$2.50/1M tokens
Higher Gemini 2.5 Pro tier for prompts above 200K tokens.
Output price$25/1M tokens
<=200K tokens
$10/1M tokens
Standard Gemini 2.5 Pro pricing for prompts up to 200K tokens.
>200K tokens
$15/1M tokens
Higher Gemini 2.5 Pro tier for prompts above 200K tokens.
Providers

Capabilities

CapabilityClaude Opus 4.5Gemini 2.5 Pro
VisionYesYes
MultimodalYesYes
ReasoningYesYes
Function callingYesYes
Tool useYesYes
Structured outputsYesYes
Code executionYesYes
IDE integrationNoNo
Computer useNoNo
Parallel agentsNoNo

Benchmarks

BenchmarkClaude Opus 4.5Gemini 2.5 Pro
MMLU PRO88.986.2
SWE-bench Verified80.963.8
Google-Proof Q&A87.086.4
Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding80.781.7
Chatbot Arena1466.01398.0
Aider Polyglot72.083.1

Deep dive

On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has Claude Opus 4.5 at 88.9 and Gemini 2.5 Pro at 86.2, with Claude Opus 4.5 ahead by 2.7 points; SWE-bench Verified has Claude Opus 4.5 at 80.9 and Gemini 2.5 Pro at 63.8, with Claude Opus 4.5 ahead by 17.1 points; Google-Proof Q&A has Claude Opus 4.5 at 87 and Gemini 2.5 Pro at 86.4, with Claude Opus 4.5 ahead by 0.6 points. The largest visible gap is 17.1 points on SWE-bench Verified, 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 is close: both models cover vision, multimodal input, reasoning mode, function calling, and tool use. That makes context budget, benchmark fit, and provider maturity more important than a simple checklist. If your application depends on one integration detail, verify it against the provider route you plan to use, not just the base model listing.

For cost, Claude Opus 4.5 lists $5/1M input and $25/1M 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 $7.13 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 Opus 4.5 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 Opus 4.5 or Gemini 2.5 Pro?

Gemini 2.5 Pro supports 1m tokens, while Claude Opus 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 Opus 4.5 or Gemini 2.5 Pro?

Claude Opus 4.5 lists $5/1M input and $25/1M 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 Opus 4.5 or Gemini 2.5 Pro open source?

Claude Opus 4.5 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 Opus 4.5 or Gemini 2.5 Pro?

Both Claude Opus 4.5 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 Opus 4.5 or Gemini 2.5 Pro?

Both Claude Opus 4.5 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 Opus 4.5 and Gemini 2.5 Pro?

Claude Opus 4.5 is available on Microsoft Foundry, Anthropic, GCP Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock, and OpenRouter. 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.

Continue comparing

Last reviewed: 2026-06-05. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.