Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-4o (08-06)
Claude Sonnet 4.6 (2026) and GPT-4o (08-06) (2024) are frontier reasoning models from Anthropic and OpenAI. Claude Sonnet 4.6 ships a 1m-token context window, while GPT-4o (08-06) ships a 128k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads by 12.6 pts. On pricing, GPT-4o (08-06) costs $2.50/1M 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.
Pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 for general evaluation; GPT-4o (08-06) is better when coding workflow support matters more.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | GPT-4o (08-06) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 1m | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $15/1M tokens | $10/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 6 tracked | 3 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | MMLU PRO leader | 1 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 12.6 points.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 uniquely exposes Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Computer use in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Claude Sonnet 4.6 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- GPT-4o (08-06) has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $10/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags GPT-4o (08-06) 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 Sonnet 4.6
$6,150
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
GPT-4o (08-06)
$4,500
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenAI API
Estimated monthly gap: $1,650. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- GPT-4o (08-06) is $5/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Computer use before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $5/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 adds Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Computer use in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-02-17 | 2024-08-06 |
| Context window | 1m | 128k |
| Parameters | — | 1.76T (8x222B MoE)* |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Mixture of Experts |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Openness | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Weights | Not released | Not released |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-08 | 2023-10 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | GPT-4o (08-06) |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $3/1M tokens | $2.50/1M tokens |
| Output price | $15/1M tokens | $10/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | GPT-4o (08-06) |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | Yes |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | Yes | No |
| Parallel agents | Yes | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | GPT-4o (08-06) |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 87.3 | 74.7 |
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-26. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.