Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Qwen2.5-72B
Claude Sonnet 4.6 (2026) and Qwen2.5-72B (2025) are frontier reasoning models from Anthropic and Alibaba. Claude Sonnet 4.6 ships a 1m-token context window, while Qwen2.5-72B ships a 128k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads by 15.3 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 fits 8x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and Qwen2.5-72B for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Qwen2.5-72B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents | tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | RAG, Agents, and Long context |
| Context window | 1m | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $15/1M tokens | - |
| Provider routes | 6 tracked | 0 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | MMLU PRO leader | 1 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 15.3 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 Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Claude Sonnet 4.6 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Local decision data tags Qwen2.5-72B for RAG, Agents, and Long context.
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
Qwen2.5-72B
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Qwen2.5-72B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen2.5-72B and Claude Sonnet 4.6; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-02-17 | 2025-10-10 |
| Context window | 1m | 128k |
| Parameters | — | 72B |
| 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 | 2025-08 | 2024-09 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Qwen2.5-72B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $3/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $15/1M tokens | - |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Qwen2.5-72B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | Yes | No |
| Parallel agents | Yes | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Qwen2.5-72B |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 87.3 | 72.0 |
Continue comparing
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-26. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.