Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026

Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Gemini 3.6 Pro benchmark

Name: Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Gemini 3.6 Pro AI benchmark comparison
Creator: CompareLLM
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This page compares Claude Sonnet 4.5 (Anthropic) and Gemini 3.6 Pro (Google) using the latest snapshots we have as of Aug 16, 2026. On preference Elo, Gemini 3.6 Pro is ahead by 46 points (1,570 vs 1,524; seed-bootstrap (Aug 16, 2026)). On SWE-bench coding, Gemini 3.6 Pro resolves 74.6% versus 70.1% (seed-bootstrap (Aug 16, 2026)). Gemini 3.6 Pro streams faster (102 tok/s) while Gemini 3.6 Pro is the cheaper output token ($5/1M). Gemini 3.6 Pro has the larger context window (2M 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.

Share Analysis:

WhatsApp Telegram X / Post LinkedIn Reddit

Anthropic

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Workhorse Anthropic model: most of Opus coding quality at a mid-tier price.

Elo 1,524$15/1M out

Google

Gemini 3.6 Pro

Current Google Pro-class multimodal model. Long context, strong coding, billed like the 3.x Pro tier.

Elo 1,570$5/1M out

Swap or Add Any Model to this Matchup

Instant pairwise benchmark recalculation across 400+ LLMs

Model A

Model B

Quick vs:vs Claude Opus 4.5 vs Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude 3.7 Sonnet vs GPT-5

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

Claude Sonnet 4.5 (0)vsGemini 3.6 Pro (10)

Claude Sonnet 4.5: 0W (0%)Overall: Gemini 3.6 ProGemini 3.6 Pro: 10W (100%)

← Claude Sonnet 4.5Gemini 3.6 Pro →

Gemini 3.6 Pro (5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Preference Elo

1,524vs1,570

Coding Elo

1,531vs1,566

SWE-bench

70.1%vs74.6%

LiveBench

67.4%vs71.8%

GPQA Diamond

80.2%vs84.4%

Claude Sonnet 4.5: 0WGemini 3.6 Pro: 5W

Gemini 3.6 Pro (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

88 tok/svs102 tok/s

Time to first token

240 msvs205 ms

Claude Sonnet 4.5: 0WGemini 3.6 Pro: 2W

Gemini 3.6 Pro (3/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$15/1Mvs$5/1M

Input price

$3/1Mvs$1.25/1M

Context window

1Mvs2M

Claude Sonnet 4.5: 0WGemini 3.6 Pro: 3W

Capability Matchup Radar

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Each spoke is a skill. Farther from the center is better (0–100th percentile). Tap any dot to inspect details.

Tap any node to inspect

Percentile 0–100

Dimensional AdvantageGemini 3.6 Pro 6/6

Preference Elo

Gemini 3.6 Pro

46 pts advantage

Throughput Speed

Gemini 3.6 Pro

14 tok/s faster

Price Efficiency

Gemini 3.6 Pro

$10.00/1M cheaper

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

—

Elo

High is better

1,524

EloHigh is better

1,570+3%

Code Elo

High is better

1,531

Code EloHigh is better

1,566+2%

LiveBench

High is better

67.4%

LiveBenchHigh is better

71.8%+7%

SWE-bench

High is better

70.1%

SWE-benchHigh is better

74.6%+6%

GPQA

High is better

80.2%

GPQAHigh is better

84.4%+5%

TTFT

Low is better

240 ms

TTFTLow is better

205 ms+17%

Speed

High is better

88 tok/s

SpeedHigh is better

102 tok/s+16%

In $

Low is better

$3/1M

In $Low is better

$1.25/1M+140%

Out $

Low is better

$15/1M

Out $Low is better

$5/1M+200%

Context

High is better

ContextHigh is better

2M+100%

Interactive Simulator

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Simulate monthly production API costs based on published $/1M tokens.

Save up to 64% with Gemini 3.6 Pro

Monthly Volume50M tokens/mo

Quick Presets:

Token Ratio (In vs Out)70% In / 30% Out

RAG / Search (10% out)Coding / Chat (50% out)

Claude Sonnet 4.5$330.00 / mo

In: $105.00Out: $225.00

Gemini 3.6 Pro$118.75 / mo

In: $43.75Out: $75.00

Estimated Cost Delta

Gemini 3.6 Pro is estimated to save $211.25/month ($2,535/year).

Based on 50M tokens (30% gen)

Key Selection Recommendations

1
Gemini 3.6 Pro:Pick Gemini 3.6 Pro when repo-level coding accuracy is the constraint.
2
Gemini 3.6 Pro:Pick Gemini 3.6 Pro when time-to-first-token matters more than peak Elo.
3
Gemini 3.6 Pro:Pick Gemini 3.6 Pro for million-token RAG or long-document jobs.

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsGemini 3.6 Pro

Higher SWE-bench (74.6%).

High-volume chatGemini 3.6 Pro

Lower output list price ($5/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIGemini 3.6 Pro

Lower TTFT (205 ms).

Long-document RAGGemini 3.6 Pro

Larger window (2M).

Screenshots / visionGemini 3.6 Pro

Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Gemini 3.6 Pro).

Target Workload	Recommended Pick	Evaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agents	Gemini 3.6 Pro	Higher SWE-bench (74.6%).
High-volume chat	Gemini 3.6 Pro	Lower output list price ($5/1M).
Voice / low-latency UI	Gemini 3.6 Pro	Lower TTFT (205 ms).
Long-document RAG	Gemini 3.6 Pro	Larger window (2M).
Screenshots / vision	Gemini 3.6 Pro	Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Gemini 3.6 Pro).

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

View all news

compareAug 13, 2026

Gemini Flash vs Pro: when Flash is the whole product

3.7 Flash vs 3.6 Pro is the current Google volume-versus-upgrade pair.

compareJul 24, 2026

Claude vs Gemini: coding, Elo, and output price — not a brand mashup

Top Anthropic vs top Google. Usually Opus 5 vs 3.6 Pro. Two different invoices.

compareJul 16, 2026

Gemini vs GPT: long context versus the OpenAI flagship invoice

Hub remaps to top Google vs top OpenAI Elo. Usually 3.6 Pro vs Sol. Window vs price is the plot.

launchJul 15, 2026

Gemini 3.6 Pro: Google’s current Pro-class long-context row

2M context, Pro-class Elo and coding. Upgrade path from Flash is this page, not a vibe check.

Community Sentiment

Cast Your Matchup Vote

0 total votes

Community Discussions (0)

No comments posted on this matchup yet. Be the first to share an evaluation note!

Share card

The real PNG is generated at /compare/claude-sonnet-4-5-vs-gemini-3-6-pro/opengraph-image for crawlers.

PNG

CompareLLM Matrix

Verified head-to-head card

LIVE

Anthropic

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Elo 1,524

LiveBench67.4%

SWE-bench70.1%

Speed88 tok/s

Output cost$15/1M

Google

Gemini 3.6 Pro

Elo 1,570

LiveBench71.8%

SWE-bench74.6%

Speed102 tok/s

Output cost$5/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Gemini 3.6 Pro?: Gemini 3.6 Pro has the higher preference Elo in our latest snapshot (1,570). “Better” still depends on coding, price, and latency — see the table.
Which is better at coding, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Gemini 3.6 Pro?: Gemini 3.6 Pro leads SWE-bench at 74.6% vs 70.1%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.
Which is cheaper to run in production?: Gemini 3.6 Pro output tokens are $5/1M versus $15/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Gemini 3.6 Pro?: Gemini 3.6 Pro has the lower time-to-first-token (205 ms vs 240 ms). Tokens/sec is a separate column if you care about long completions.
Which has the larger context window?: Gemini 3.6 Pro accepts 2M tokens versus 1M.
Can I self-host either model?: Neither model is marked open-weights here. You are comparing hosted APIs.
Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?: No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.
What does preference Elo mean on this page?: Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Gemini 3.6 Pro Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All Claude Sonnet 4.5 matchups →|All Gemini 3.6 Pro matchups →

Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Claude Sonnet 4 (previous sonnet)Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Claude Sonnet 5 (next sonnet)Gemini 3.6 Pro vs Gemini 3 Pro (previous gemini-pro)Gemini 3.7 Flash vs Claude Sonnet 4.5 Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Claude Sonnet 4.5 Gemini 3 Flash vs Claude Sonnet 4.5

Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Gemini 3.6 Pro benchmark

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

Claude Sonnet 4.5 (0)vsGemini 3.6 Pro (10)

Claude Sonnet 4.5: 0W (0%)Overall: Gemini 3.6 ProGemini 3.6 Pro: 10W (100%)

← Claude Sonnet 4.5Gemini 3.6 Pro →

Gemini 3.6 Pro (5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Preference Elo

1,524vs1,570

Coding Elo

1,531vs1,566

SWE-bench

70.1%vs74.6%

LiveBench

67.4%vs71.8%

GPQA Diamond

80.2%vs84.4%

Claude Sonnet 4.5: 0WGemini 3.6 Pro: 5W

Gemini 3.6 Pro (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

88 tok/svs102 tok/s

Time to first token

240 msvs205 ms

Claude Sonnet 4.5: 0WGemini 3.6 Pro: 2W

Gemini 3.6 Pro (3/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$15/1Mvs$5/1M

Input price

$3/1Mvs$1.25/1M

Context window

1Mvs2M

Claude Sonnet 4.5: 0WGemini 3.6 Pro: 3W

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsGemini 3.6 Pro

Higher SWE-bench (74.6%).

High-volume chatGemini 3.6 Pro

Lower output list price ($5/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIGemini 3.6 Pro

Lower TTFT (205 ms).

Long-document RAGGemini 3.6 Pro

Larger window (2M).

Screenshots / visionGemini 3.6 Pro

Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Gemini 3.6 Pro).

Target Workload	Recommended Pick	Evaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agents	Gemini 3.6 Pro	Higher SWE-bench (74.6%).
High-volume chat	Gemini 3.6 Pro	Lower output list price ($5/1M).
Voice / low-latency UI	Gemini 3.6 Pro	Lower TTFT (205 ms).
Long-document RAG	Gemini 3.6 Pro	Larger window (2M).
Screenshots / vision	Gemini 3.6 Pro	Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Gemini 3.6 Pro).

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Gemini 3.6 Pro?

Gemini 3.6 Pro has the higher preference Elo in our latest snapshot (1,570). “Better” still depends on coding, price, and latency — see the table.

Which is better at coding, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Gemini 3.6 Pro?

Gemini 3.6 Pro leads SWE-bench at 74.6% vs 70.1%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.

Which is cheaper to run in production?

Gemini 3.6 Pro output tokens are $5/1M versus $15/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.

Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Gemini 3.6 Pro?

Gemini 3.6 Pro has the lower time-to-first-token (205 ms vs 240 ms). Tokens/sec is a separate column if you care about long completions.

Which has the larger context window?

Gemini 3.6 Pro accepts 2M tokens versus 1M.

Can I self-host either model?

Neither model is marked open-weights here. You are comparing hosted APIs.

Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?

No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.

What does preference Elo mean on this page?

Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Gemini 3.6 Pro Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Swap or Add Any Model to this Matchup

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Intelligence & Reasoning

Speed & Latency

Pricing & Capacity

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Gemini 3.6 Pro

Gemini 3.6 Pro

Gemini 3.6 Pro

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Key Selection Recommendations

Recommended Workload Routing

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

Gemini Flash vs Pro: when Flash is the whole product

Claude vs Gemini: coding, Elo, and output price — not a brand mashup

Gemini vs GPT: long context versus the OpenAI flagship invoice

Gemini 3.6 Pro: Google’s current Pro-class long-context row

Cast Your Matchup Vote

Community Discussions (0)

Share card

CompareLLM Matrix

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Gemini 3.6 Pro

Frequently Asked Questions

Related news

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

Swap or Add Any Model to this Matchup

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Intelligence & Reasoning

Speed & Latency

Pricing & Capacity

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Gemini 3.6 Pro

Gemini 3.6 Pro

Gemini 3.6 Pro

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Key Selection Recommendations

Recommended Workload Routing

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

Gemini Flash vs Pro: when Flash is the whole product

Claude vs Gemini: coding, Elo, and output price — not a brand mashup

Gemini vs GPT: long context versus the OpenAI flagship invoice

Gemini 3.6 Pro: Google’s current Pro-class long-context row

Cast Your Matchup Vote

Community Discussions (0)

Share card

CompareLLM Matrix

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Gemini 3.6 Pro

Frequently Asked Questions

Related news

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons