Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Sonnet 4 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,455 vs 1,370), while Claude Sonnet 4 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (62.8%), while Llama 3.1 405B is more budget-friendly at $3.5/1M per 1M output tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4 provides faster response streaming (92 tok/s). Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
10 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
First Sonnet 4 generation. Bridge between 3.5/3.7 and Sonnet 5.
Meta flagship open-weight 405B dense foundation model with 128k context window.
Δ 85 Arena Elo pts
92 tok/s
$3.5 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
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
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 4 | Llama 3.1 405B | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +85 | ||
| Coding Elo | +83 | ||
| LiveBench | +2% | ||
| SWE-bench | +4.4% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +1.2% | ||
| Time to first token | +140 ms | ||
| Output speed | 92 tok/s | 42 tok/s | +50 tok/s |
| Input price | $1.25/1M | +$1.75/1M | |
| Output price | $3.5/1M | +$11.5/1M | |
| Context window | +872k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Llama 3.1 405B is estimated to save $233.75/month ($2,805/year).
Higher SWE-bench (62.8%).
Lower output list price ($3.5/1M).
Lower TTFT (220 ms).
Larger window (1M).
Claude Sonnet 4 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Sonnet 4 | Higher SWE-bench (62.8%). |
| High-volume chat | Llama 3.1 405B | Lower output list price ($3.5/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Claude Sonnet 4 | Lower TTFT (220 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude Sonnet 4 | Larger window (1M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Sonnet 4 | Claude Sonnet 4 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
No comments posted on this matchup yet. Be the first to share an evaluation note!
Dynamic OpenGraph banner generated at /compare/claude-sonnet-4-vs-llama-3-1-405b/opengraph-image
Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
