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Claude 3.5 SonnetvsClaude 3 Opus

Anthropic vs Anthropic — Side-by-side model comparison

Claude 3.5 Sonnet leads 2/5 categories

Head-to-Head Comparison

MetricClaude 3.5 SonnetClaude 3 Opus
Provider
Arena Rank
#8
#7
Context Window
200K
200K
Input Pricing
$3.00/1M tokens
$15.00/1M tokens
Output Pricing
$15.00/1M tokens
$75.00/1M tokens
Parameters
Undisclosed
Undisclosed
Open Source
No
No
Best For
Coding, analysis, writing, vision
Complex analysis, research, nuanced writing
Release Date
Oct 22, 2024
Mar 4, 2024

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Claude 3.5 Sonnet was Anthropic's previous generation balanced model that set new industry benchmarks when released. It demonstrated that mid-tier models could compete with and even surpass flagship models from competitors on coding, reasoning, and analysis tasks. The model featured a 200K token context window and introduced Anthropic's Artifacts feature for interactive code execution. Claude 3.5 Sonnet became one of the most popular models for professional developers and enterprises, known for its excellent code generation, careful instruction following, and reduced hallucination rates. While now succeeded by Claude Sonnet 4, it remains widely deployed in production systems and continues to offer strong performance at its price point. It was instrumental in establishing Anthropic as a serious competitor to OpenAI.

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Claude 3 Opus

Claude 3 Opus, developed by Anthropic, is the most capable model in the Claude 3 generation with a 200K token context window. The model specializes in complex analysis, research synthesis, nuanced writing, and tasks requiring deep comprehension of lengthy documents. Claude 3 Opus demonstrated state-of-the-art performance when released, matching or exceeding GPT-4 on multiple benchmarks including MMLU and HumanEval. Its Constitutional AI training approach emphasizes safety and accuracy while maintaining strong creative and analytical capabilities. Priced at $15.00 per million input tokens and $75.00 per million output tokens, it targets enterprise use cases where output quality justifies premium pricing. Claude 3 Opus ranks #7 on the Chatbot Arena leaderboard, reflecting its position among the most capable language models available.

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Key Differences: Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Claude 3 Opus

1

Claude 3 Opus ranks higher in arena benchmarks (#7) indicating stronger overall performance.

2

Claude 3.5 Sonnet is 5.0x cheaper on average, making it the better choice for high-volume applications.

C

When to use Claude 3.5 Sonnet

  • +Budget is a concern and you need cost efficiency
  • +Your use case involves coding, analysis, writing, vision
View full Claude 3.5 Sonnet specs →
C

When to use Claude 3 Opus

  • +You need the highest quality output based on arena rankings
  • +Quality matters more than cost
  • +Your use case involves complex analysis, research, nuanced writing
View full Claude 3 Opus specs →

Cost Analysis

At current pricing, Claude 3.5 Sonnet is 5.0x more affordable than Claude 3 Opus. For a typical enterprise workload processing 100M tokens per month:

Claude 3.5 Sonnet monthly cost

$900

100M tokens/mo (50/50 in/out)

Claude 3 Opus monthly cost

$4,500

100M tokens/mo (50/50 in/out)

The Verdict

Claude 3.5 Sonnet wins our head-to-head comparison with 2 out of 5 category wins. It's the stronger choice for coding, analysis, writing, vision, though Claude 3 Opus holds an edge in complex analysis, research, nuanced writing.

Last compared: April 2026 · Data sourced from public benchmarks and official pricing pages

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Claude 3 Opus?
In our head-to-head comparison, Claude 3.5 Sonnet leads in 2 out of 5 categories (arena rank, context window, input pricing, output pricing, and parameters). Claude 3.5 Sonnet excels at coding, analysis, writing, vision, while Claude 3 Opus is better suited for complex analysis, research, nuanced writing. The best choice depends on your specific requirements, budget, and use case.
How does Claude 3.5 Sonnet pricing compare to Claude 3 Opus?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet charges $3.00 per 1M input tokens and $15.00 per 1M output tokens. Claude 3 Opus charges $15.00 per 1M input tokens and $75.00 per 1M output tokens. Claude 3.5 Sonnet is the more affordable option, approximately 5.0x cheaper on average. For high-volume production workloads, the pricing difference can significantly impact total cost of ownership.
What is the context window difference between Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Claude 3 Opus?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet supports a 200K token context window, while Claude 3 Opus supports 200K tokens. Context window size matters most for tasks involving long documents, large codebases, or extended conversations.
Can I use Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Claude 3 Opus for free?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is a paid API model starting at $3.00 per 1M input tokens. Claude 3 Opus is a paid API model starting at $15.00 per 1M input tokens.
Which model has better benchmarks, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Claude 3 Opus?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet holds arena rank #8, while Claude 3 Opus holds rank #7. Claude 3 Opus performs better in overall arena benchmarks, which aggregate human preference ratings across coding, reasoning, and general tasks. Note that benchmarks don't capture every use case — we recommend testing both models on your specific tasks.
Is Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Claude 3 Opus better for coding?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is specifically optimized for coding tasks. Claude 3 Opus's primary strength is complex analysis, research, nuanced writing. For coding specifically, arena rank and code-specific benchmarks are the best indicators of performance.