Claude Opus 4.5 vs Gemma 4 31B IT
Claude Opus 4.5 (2025) and Gemma 4 31B IT (2026) are frontier reasoning models from Anthropic and Google DeepMind. Claude Opus 4.5 ships a 200k-token context window, while Gemma 4 31B IT ships a 256k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Claude Opus 4.5 leads by 3.7 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Gemma 4 31B IT is ~3746% cheaper at $0.13/1M; pay for Claude Opus 4.5 only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude Opus 4.5 | Gemma 4 31B IT |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents | 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 | $25/1M tokens | $0.38/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 6 tracked | 6 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | MMLU PRO leader | 2 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude Opus 4.5 holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 3.7 points.
- Claude Opus 4.5 uniquely exposes Reasoning and Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Claude Opus 4.5 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Gemma 4 31B IT has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Gemma 4 31B IT has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.38/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Gemma 4 31B 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 Opus 4.5
$10,250
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Microsoft Foundry
Gemma 4 31B IT
$199
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $10,051. 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.
- Gemma 4 31B IT is $24.62/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning and Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on GCP Vertex AI and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Claude Opus 4.5 is $24.62/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Claude Opus 4.5 adds Reasoning and Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-11-01 | 2026-03-31 |
| Context window | 200k | 256k |
| Parameters | — | 31B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | - |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open source |
| Weights | Not released | Available |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-12 | 2025-01 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude Opus 4.5 | Gemma 4 31B IT |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $5/1M tokens | $0.13/1M tokens |
| Output price | $25/1M tokens | $0.38/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude Opus 4.5 | Gemma 4 31B IT |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| JSON / 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 Opus 4.5 | Gemma 4 31B IT |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 88.9 | 85.2 |
| Google-Proof Q&A | 87.0 | 84.3 |
Continue comparing
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-26. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.