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Head-to-head comparison

Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-5.2 Chat

Claude Sonnet 5 (Anthropic) and GPT-5.2 Chat (OpenAI) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 11 August 2026

As of 11 August 2026, GPT-5.2 Chat holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#9 vs #14); Claude Sonnet 5 is 1.4× cheaper per output token ($10.00/1M vs $14.00/1M); and Claude Sonnet 5 offers the longer context window (1M vs 128K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Claude Sonnet 5 if…

  • API cost matters — $10.00/1M output tokens against $14.00/1M, about 1.4× cheaper.
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 128K.
  • you want provider choice — 4 listed API providers against 1.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1523 against 1515.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Claude Sonnet 5 was listed 30 June 2026, GPT-5.2 Chat 10 December 2025.

Choose GPT-5.2 Chat if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #9 against #14 (74.1 vs 70.0 points).
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $1.75/1M against $2.00/1M.

Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-5.2 Chat: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Claude Sonnet 5 and GPT-5.2 Chat
FieldClaude Sonnet 5AnthropicGPT-5.2 ChatOpenAI
ModelCap Index position#14#9
Index score70.074.1
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$2.00$1.75
Output price / 1M tokens$10.00$14.00
Context window1M tokens128K tokens
Max output tokens128K32K
API providers listed41
Weight accessAPI onlyAPI only
Input modalitiesText, Image, FileFile, Image, Text
First listed30 June 202610 December 2025
PublisherAnthropicOpenAI

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-5.2 Chat

Public benchmark boards where Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-5.2 Chat has a published result
BoardClaude Sonnet 5GPT-5.2 ChatLeads
Arena textArena (LMArena)—14761472–1480Only one result
Arena codingArena (LMArena)15231515–1532High15151508–1522Claude Sonnet 5
LMArena AgentLMArena7.5%5.3%–9.6%High—Only one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-5.2 Chat: common questions

Is Claude Sonnet 5 better than GPT-5.2 Chat?

GPT-5.2 Chat ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 11 August 2026: #9 against #14. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it.

Is Claude Sonnet 5 cheaper than GPT-5.2 Chat?

Claude Sonnet 5 is cheaper on output tokens: $10.00/1M against $14.00/1M. Input tokens are $2.00/1M for Claude Sonnet 5 and $1.75/1M for GPT-5.2 Chat. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-5.2 Chat?

Claude Sonnet 5 has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 128K.

Which is better for coding, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-5.2 Chat?

Arena coding: Claude Sonnet 5 1523, GPT-5.2 Chat 1515 — Claude Sonnet 5 leads.

Are Claude Sonnet 5 and GPT-5.2 Chat open-weight models?

Claude Sonnet 5: API only. GPT-5.2 Chat: API only. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Claude Sonnet 5 and GPT-5.2 Chat?

ModelCap currently lists 4 API providers for Claude Sonnet 5 and 1 for GPT-5.2 Chat, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-5.2 Chat comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 11 August 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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