Pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 for best value in the claude family or everyday professional work. Pick GPT-5.4 for strong general-purpose default or coding and software engineering. On a tight budget at scale, GPT-5.4 is the value pick.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) and GPT-5.4 (OpenAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is opus-class quality on most tasks at roughly 60% lower cost — the default workhorse. GPT-5.4 is openAI's 2026 workhorse — unifies Codex and GPT into a strong default that costs half of GPT-5.5. Their biggest split is price, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.
Key differences
Price: nearly identical — $3/$15 per 1M tokens vs $2.5/$15 per 1M tokens. Cost will not be the deciding factor here.
Context window: both advertise 1M (~1,500 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
Recency: GPT-5.4 is the newer model by about 15 days (released March 5, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
Claude Sonnet 4.6
GPT-5.4
Provider
Anthropic (US)
OpenAI (US)
Released
February 2026
March 5, 2026
Context window
1M (~1,500 pages)
1M (~1,500 pages)
Price (in/out)
$3/$15 per 1M tokens
$2.5/$15 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, image, code
SWE-Bench Verified
80%
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Best value in the Claude family: Claude Sonnet 4.6 — A core design strength of Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Everyday professional work: Claude Sonnet 4.6 — A core design strength of Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Long-document analysis: Claude Sonnet 4.6 — A core design strength of Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Strong general-purpose default: GPT-5.4 — A core design strength of GPT-5.4.
Coding and software engineering: GPT-5.4 — A core design strength of GPT-5.4.
Document understanding and tool use: GPT-5.4 — A core design strength of GPT-5.4.
Lowest cost at scale: GPT-5.4 — At $2.5/$15 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: GPT-5.4 — At $2.5/$15 per 1M tokens it undercuts Claude Sonnet 4.6, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Anyone whose priority is best value in the claude family: Claude Sonnet 4.6 — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is strong general-purpose default: GPT-5.4 — That is its strongest area.
Claude Sonnet 4.6: where it fits
Opus-class quality on most tasks at roughly 60% lower cost — the default workhorse. Released February 2026 by Anthropic, it is built for best value in the Claude family, everyday professional work, long-document analysis, and coding at lower cost than Opus.
Its trade-offs are real: trails Opus on the hardest agentic tasks, and not an open-weight option. At $3 in / $15 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
GPT-5.4: where it fits
OpenAI's 2026 workhorse — unifies Codex and GPT into a strong default that costs half of GPT-5.5. Released March 5, 2026 by OpenAI, it is built for strong general-purpose default, coding and software engineering, document understanding and tool use, and 1M context with good token efficiency.
Its trade-offs: topped by GPT-5.5 on the hardest tasks, and pricier than open-weight rivals. At $2.5 in / $15 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Claude Sonnet 4.6 and GPT-5.4 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. GPT-5.4 costs less per token; and each leads in its own area — Claude Sonnet 4.6 for best value in the claude family, GPT-5.4 for strong general-purpose default. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 or GPT-5.4 better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for GPT-5.4, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Claude Sonnet 4.6 leans toward best value in the claude family while GPT-5.4 leans toward strong general-purpose default, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or GPT-5.4?
GPT-5.4 is cheaper — $3/$15 per 1M tokens vs $2.5/$15 per 1M tokens, roughly 1.2× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Both advertise 1M (~1,500 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both Claude Sonnet 4.6 and GPT-5.4 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5.4 and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or GPT-5.4?
GPT-5.4 — released March 5, 2026, about 15 days after Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-5.4
Anthropic · US | OpenAI · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 for best value in the claude family or everyday professional work. Pick GPT-5.4 for strong general-purpose default or coding and software engineering. On a tight budget at scale, GPT-5.4 is the value pick.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) and GPT-5.4 (OpenAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is opus-class quality on most tasks at roughly 60% lower cost — the default workhorse. GPT-5.4 is openAI's 2026 workhorse — unifies Codex and GPT into a strong default that costs half of GPT-5.5. Their biggest split is price, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.
Key differences at a glance
▸Price: nearly identical — $3/$15 per 1M tokens vs $2.5/$15 per 1M tokens. Cost will not be the deciding factor here.
▸Context window: both advertise 1M (~1,500 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
▸Recency: GPT-5.4 is the newer model by about 15 days (released March 5, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
Claude Sonnet 4.6
GPT-5.4
Provider
Anthropic (US)
OpenAI (US)
Released
February 2026
March 5, 2026
Context window
1M (~1,500 pages)
1M (~1,500 pages)
Price (in/out)
$3/$15 per 1M tokens
$2.5/$15 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, image, code
SWE-Bench Verified
80%
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Best value in the Claude family
Claude Sonnet 4.6
A core design strength of Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Everyday professional work
Claude Sonnet 4.6
A core design strength of Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Long-document analysis
Claude Sonnet 4.6
A core design strength of Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Strong general-purpose default
GPT-5.4
A core design strength of GPT-5.4.
Coding and software engineering
GPT-5.4
A core design strength of GPT-5.4.
Document understanding and tool use
GPT-5.4
A core design strength of GPT-5.4.
Lowest cost at scale
GPT-5.4
At $2.5/$15 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ GPT-5.4
At $2.5/$15 per 1M tokens it undercuts Claude Sonnet 4.6, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Anyone whose priority is best value in the claude family
→ Claude Sonnet 4.6
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is strong general-purpose default
→ GPT-5.4
That is its strongest area.
Claude Sonnet 4.6: where it fits
Opus-class quality on most tasks at roughly 60% lower cost — the default workhorse. Released February 2026 by Anthropic, it is built for best value in the Claude family, everyday professional work, long-document analysis, and coding at lower cost than Opus.
Its trade-offs are real: trails Opus on the hardest agentic tasks, and not an open-weight option. At $3 in / $15 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
GPT-5.4: where it fits
OpenAI's 2026 workhorse — unifies Codex and GPT into a strong default that costs half of GPT-5.5. Released March 5, 2026 by OpenAI, it is built for strong general-purpose default, coding and software engineering, document understanding and tool use, and 1M context with good token efficiency.
Its trade-offs: topped by GPT-5.5 on the hardest tasks, and pricier than open-weight rivals. At $2.5 in / $15 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Claude Sonnet 4.6 and GPT-5.4 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. GPT-5.4 costs less per token; and each leads in its own area — Claude Sonnet 4.6 for best value in the claude family, GPT-5.4 for strong general-purpose default. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Claude Sonnet 4.6 and GPT-5.4 without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 or GPT-5.4 better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for GPT-5.4, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Claude Sonnet 4.6 leans toward best value in the claude family while GPT-5.4 leans toward strong general-purpose default, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or GPT-5.4?
GPT-5.4 is cheaper — $3/$15 per 1M tokens vs $2.5/$15 per 1M tokens, roughly 1.2× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Both advertise 1M (~1,500 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both Claude Sonnet 4.6 and GPT-5.4 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5.4 and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or GPT-5.4?
GPT-5.4 — released March 5, 2026, about 15 days after Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.