Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026

Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-5 benchmark

Name: Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-5 AI benchmark comparison
Creator: CompareLLM
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This page compares Claude Sonnet 5 (Anthropic) and GPT-5 (OpenAI) using the latest snapshots we have as of Aug 16, 2026. On preference Elo, GPT-5 is ahead by 2 points (1,558 vs 1,556; seed-bootstrap (Aug 1, 2026)). On SWE-bench coding, Claude Sonnet 5 resolves 73.8% versus 68.4% (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.

Share Analysis:

WhatsApp Telegram X / Post LinkedIn Reddit

Anthropic

Claude Sonnet 5

Anthropic workhorse. Official $2/$10 per 1M tokens made permanent on Aug 10 2026.

Elo 1,556$10/1M out

OpenAI

GPT-5

OpenAI flagship reasoning model for 2025–26. Strong general preference Elo and multimodal coverage.

Elo 1,558$10/1M 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 Sonnet 4.5 vs Claude 3.7 Sonnet

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

Claude Sonnet 5 (6)vsGPT-5 (3)

Claude Sonnet 5: 6W (67%)Overall: Claude Sonnet 5GPT-5: 3W (33%)

← Claude Sonnet 51 tiesGPT-5 →

Claude Sonnet 5 (3/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

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

Preference Elo

1,556vs1,558

Coding Elo

1,562vs1,540

SWE-bench

73.8%vs68.4%

LiveBench

70.4%vs69.8%

GPQA Diamond

82.8%vs85.2%

Claude Sonnet 5: 3WGPT-5: 2W

Claude Sonnet 5 (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

118 tok/svs78 tok/s

Time to first token

175 msvs290 ms

Claude Sonnet 5: 2WGPT-5: 0W

Tied (1/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$10/1Mvs$10/1M

Input price

$2/1Mvs$1.25/1M

Context window

1Mvs400k

Claude Sonnet 5: 1WGPT-5: 1W

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 AdvantageClaude Sonnet 5 3/6

Preference Elo

GPT-5

2 pts advantage

Throughput Speed

Claude Sonnet 5

40 tok/s faster

Price Efficiency

Claude Sonnet 5

Same token price

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

—

Elo

High is better

1,556

EloHigh is better

1,558

Code Elo

High is better

+1%1,562

Code EloHigh is better

1,540

LiveBench

High is better

+1%70.4%

LiveBenchHigh is better

69.8%

SWE-bench

High is better

+8%73.8%

SWE-benchHigh is better

68.4%

GPQA

High is better

82.8%

GPQAHigh is better

85.2%+3%

TTFT

Low is better

+66%175 ms

TTFTLow is better

290 ms

Speed

High is better

+51%118 tok/s

SpeedHigh is better

78 tok/s

In $

Low is better

$2/1M

In $Low is better

$1.25/1M+60%

Out $

Low is better

$10/1M

Out $Low is better

$10/1M

Context

High is better

+150%1M

ContextHigh is better

400k

Interactive Simulator

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

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

Save up to 12% with GPT-5

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 5$220.00 / mo

In: $70.00Out: $150.00

GPT-5$193.75 / mo

In: $43.75Out: $150.00

Estimated Cost Delta

GPT-5 is estimated to save $26.25/month ($315/year).

Based on 50M tokens (30% gen)

Key Selection Recommendations

1
Claude Sonnet 5:Pick Claude Sonnet 5 when repo-level coding accuracy is the constraint.
2
Claude Sonnet 5:Pick Claude Sonnet 5 when time-to-first-token matters more than peak Elo.
3
Claude Sonnet 5:Pick Claude Sonnet 5 for million-token RAG or long-document jobs.

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsClaude Sonnet 5

Higher SWE-bench (73.8%).

High-volume chatClaude Sonnet 5

Lower output list price ($10/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIClaude Sonnet 5

Lower TTFT (175 ms).

Long-document RAGClaude Sonnet 5

Larger window (1M).

Screenshots / visionGPT-5

Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (GPT-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	GPT-5	Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (GPT-5).

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

View all news

compareAug 10, 2026

Sonnet vs Opus in 2026: same family, different invoice

Usually Sonnet 5 vs Opus 5. Coding delta versus output $/1M. The workhorse question.

priceAug 10, 2026

Claude Sonnet 5 at $2/$10: the 2026 Anthropic workhorse

Aug 10 2026 made the $2/$10 list permanent. Sonnet is the default Claude unless the repo is actually on fire.

launchFeb 18, 2026

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is the previous workhorse — still a valid vs baseline

Most of Opus 4.5 coding at a mid-tier price. Sonnet 5 replaced it as the buy; 4.5 remains a compare baseline.

launchAug 8, 2025

GPT-5 (2025) remains the legacy OpenAI flagship baseline

Still a common compare target. 5.6 Sol replaced it as the buy; GPT-5 stays for old URLs.

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-5-vs-gpt-5/opengraph-image for crawlers.

PNG

CompareLLM Matrix

Verified head-to-head card

LIVE

Anthropic

Claude Sonnet 5

Elo 1,556

LiveBench70.4%

SWE-bench73.8%

Speed118 tok/s

Output cost$10/1M

OpenAI

GPT-5

Elo 1,558

LiveBench69.8%

SWE-bench68.4%

Speed78 tok/s

Output cost$10/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-5?: GPT-5 has the higher preference Elo in our latest snapshot (1,558). “Better” still depends on coding, price, and latency — see the table.
Which is better at coding, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-5?: Claude Sonnet 5 leads SWE-bench at 73.8% vs 68.4%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.
Which is cheaper to run in production?: Claude Sonnet 5 output tokens are $10/1M versus $10/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-5?: Claude Sonnet 5 has the lower time-to-first-token (175 ms vs 290 ms). Tokens/sec is a separate column if you care about long completions.
Which has the larger context window?: Claude Sonnet 5 accepts 1M tokens versus 400k.
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 5 and GPT-5 Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All Claude Sonnet 5 matchups →|All GPT-5 matchups →

Claude Sonnet 5 vs Claude Sonnet 4.5 (previous sonnet)GPT-5 vs GPT-4.5 Orion (previous gpt-flagship)GPT-5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol (next gpt-flagship)GPT-5.6 Terra vs Claude Sonnet 5 Claude Opus 4.5 vs GPT-5 GPT-4.5 Orion vs Claude Sonnet 5

Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-5 benchmark

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

Claude Sonnet 5 (6)vsGPT-5 (3)

Claude Sonnet 5: 6W (67%)Overall: Claude Sonnet 5GPT-5: 3W (33%)

← Claude Sonnet 51 tiesGPT-5 →

Claude Sonnet 5 (3/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

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

Preference Elo

1,556vs1,558

Coding Elo

1,562vs1,540

SWE-bench

73.8%vs68.4%

LiveBench

70.4%vs69.8%

GPQA Diamond

82.8%vs85.2%

Claude Sonnet 5: 3WGPT-5: 2W

Claude Sonnet 5 (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

118 tok/svs78 tok/s

Time to first token

175 msvs290 ms

Claude Sonnet 5: 2WGPT-5: 0W

Tied (1/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$10/1Mvs$10/1M

Input price

$2/1Mvs$1.25/1M

Context window

1Mvs400k

Claude Sonnet 5: 1WGPT-5: 1W

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsClaude Sonnet 5

Higher SWE-bench (73.8%).

High-volume chatClaude Sonnet 5

Lower output list price ($10/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIClaude Sonnet 5

Lower TTFT (175 ms).

Long-document RAGClaude Sonnet 5

Larger window (1M).

Screenshots / visionGPT-5

Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (GPT-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	GPT-5	Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (GPT-5).

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-5?

GPT-5 has the higher preference Elo in our latest snapshot (1,558). “Better” still depends on coding, price, and latency — see the table.

Which is better at coding, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-5?

Claude Sonnet 5 leads SWE-bench at 73.8% vs 68.4%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.

Which is cheaper to run in production?

Claude Sonnet 5 output tokens are $10/1M versus $10/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.

Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-5?

Claude Sonnet 5 has the lower time-to-first-token (175 ms vs 290 ms). Tokens/sec is a separate column if you care about long completions.

Which has the larger context window?

Claude Sonnet 5 accepts 1M tokens versus 400k.

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 5 and GPT-5 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

GPT-5

Claude Sonnet 5

Claude Sonnet 5

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Key Selection Recommendations

Recommended Workload Routing

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

Sonnet vs Opus in 2026: same family, different invoice

Claude Sonnet 5 at $2/$10: the 2026 Anthropic workhorse

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is the previous workhorse — still a valid vs baseline

GPT-5 (2025) remains the legacy OpenAI flagship baseline

Cast Your Matchup Vote

Community Discussions (0)

Share card

CompareLLM Matrix

Claude Sonnet 5

GPT-5

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

GPT-5

Claude Sonnet 5

Claude Sonnet 5

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Key Selection Recommendations

Recommended Workload Routing

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

Sonnet vs Opus in 2026: same family, different invoice

Claude Sonnet 5 at $2/$10: the 2026 Anthropic workhorse

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is the previous workhorse — still a valid vs baseline

GPT-5 (2025) remains the legacy OpenAI flagship baseline

Cast Your Matchup Vote

Community Discussions (0)

Share card

CompareLLM Matrix

Claude Sonnet 5

GPT-5

Frequently Asked Questions

Related news

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons