Skip to content
ModelCap

Head-to-head comparison

Claude Sonnet 5 vs Grok 4.6

Claude Sonnet 5 (Anthropic) and Grok 4.6 (xAI) 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 17 August 2026

As of 17 August 2026, Grok 4.6 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#10 vs #13); Grok 4.6 is 1.7× cheaper per output token ($6.00/1M vs $10.00/1M); and Claude Sonnet 5 offers the longer context window (1M vs 500K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Claude Sonnet 5 if…

  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 500K.
  • you want provider choice — 5 listed API providers against 1.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1523 against 1512.

Choose Grok 4.6 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #10 against #13 (74.4 vs 73.7 points).
  • API cost matters — $6.00/1M output tokens against $10.00/1M, about 1.7× cheaper.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 60.9 against 55.3.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Grok 4.6 was listed 12 August 2026, Claude Sonnet 5 30 June 2026.

Claude Sonnet 5 vs Grok 4.6: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Claude Sonnet 5 and Grok 4.6
FieldClaude Sonnet 5AnthropicGrok 4.6xAI
ModelCap Index position#13#10
Index score73.774.4
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$2.00$2.00
Output price / 1M tokens$10.00$6.00
Context window1M tokens500K tokens
Max output tokens128K—
API providers listed51
Weight accessAPI onlyAPI only
Input modalitiesText, Image, FileText, Image, File
First listed30 June 202612 August 2026
PublisherAnthropicxAI

Evidence: 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards · 5 public benchmark observations across 5 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Claude Sonnet 5 vs Grok 4.6

Public benchmark boards where Claude Sonnet 5 or Grok 4.6 has a published result
BoardClaude Sonnet 5Grok 4.6Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)15231514–1531High15121485–1538HighClaude Sonnet 5
LMArena AgentLMArena7.1%4.9%–9.4%High—Only one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation—67.1%X-HighOnly one result
ARC-AGI-3ARC Prize Foundation—2.1%X-HighOnly one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis55.3intelligence-index60.9intelligence-indexGrok 4.6

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 Grok 4.6: common questions

Is Claude Sonnet 5 better than Grok 4.6?

Grok 4.6 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 17 August 2026: #10 against #13. 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 Grok 4.6?

Grok 4.6 is cheaper on output tokens: $6.00/1M against $10.00/1M. Input tokens are $2.00/1M for Claude Sonnet 5 and $2.00/1M for Grok 4.6. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Claude Sonnet 5 or Grok 4.6?

Claude Sonnet 5 has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 500K.

Which is better for coding, Claude Sonnet 5 or Grok 4.6?

Arena coding: Claude Sonnet 5 1523, Grok 4.6 1512 — Claude Sonnet 5 leads.

Are Claude Sonnet 5 and Grok 4.6 open-weight models?

Claude Sonnet 5: API only. Grok 4.6: 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 Grok 4.6?

ModelCap currently lists 5 API providers for Claude Sonnet 5 and 1 for Grok 4.6, 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 Grok 4.6 comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 17 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.

Explore further