Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
This page compares Claude 3 Opus (Anthropic) and Claude Sonnet 5 (Anthropic) using the latest snapshots we have as of Aug 16, 2026. On preference Elo, Claude Sonnet 5 is ahead by 308 points (1,556 vs 1,248; seed-bootstrap (Aug 16, 2026)). On SWE-bench coding, Claude Sonnet 5 resolves 73.8% versus 38.4% (seed-bootstrap (Aug 16, 2026)). Claude Sonnet 5 streams faster (118 tok/s) while Claude Sonnet 5 is the cheaper output token ($10/1M). Claude Sonnet 5 has the larger context window (1M tokens). Every cell below is a dated snapshot from a named public source — we do not invent missing scores, and we do not run SWE-bench ourselves.
Anthropic
Claude 3 OpusOriginal Claude 3 flagship. Kept so opus 3 vs later Opus and vs GPT-4o still resolve.
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5Anthropic workhorse. Official $2/$10 per 1M tokens made permanent on Aug 10 2026.
Instant pairwise benchmark recalculation across 400+ LLMs
Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
Each spoke is a skill. Farther from the center is better (0–100th percentile). Tap any dot to inspect details.
308 pts advantage
70 tok/s faster
$65.00/1M cheaper
Simulate monthly production API costs based on published $/1M tokens.
Claude Sonnet 5 is estimated to save $1,430.00/month ($17,160/year).
Higher SWE-bench (73.8%).
Lower output list price ($10/1M).
Lower TTFT (175 ms).
Larger window (1M).
Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Sonnet 5).
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Sonnet 5 | Higher SWE-bench (73.8%). |
| High-volume chat | Claude Sonnet 5 | Lower output list price ($10/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Claude Sonnet 5 | Lower TTFT (175 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude Sonnet 5 | Larger window (1M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Sonnet 5 | Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Sonnet 5). |
Usually Sonnet 5 vs Opus 5. Coding delta versus output $/1M. The workhorse question.
Aug 10 2026 made the $2/$10 list permanent. Sonnet is the default Claude unless the repo is actually on fire.
Most of Opus 4.5 coding at a mid-tier price. Sonnet 5 replaced it as the buy; 4.5 remains a compare baseline.
No comments posted on this matchup yet. Be the first to share an evaluation note!
The real PNG is generated at /compare/claude-3-opus-vs-claude-sonnet-5/opengraph-image for crawlers.
Verified head-to-head card
