Claude Sonnet 5 vs Grok 4.5
Anthropic · US | xAI · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Claude Sonnet 5 for agentic workflows that plan, use tools, and run autonomously or multi-step coding, debugging, and tool use. Pick Grok 4.5 for cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost or extreme token efficiency — around 4x fewer output tokens per task than opus 4.8.
Claude Sonnet 5 (Anthropic) and Grok 4.5 (xAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Claude Sonnet 5 is anthropic's most agentic Sonnet, with near-Opus-4.8 performance at Sonnet prices; the default model on Free and Pro. Grok 4.5 is xAI's first coding-focused model — pitched as Opus-class but faster, more token-efficient, and cheaper, undercutting GPT-5.5-Codex. Their biggest split is context window, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Context window: Claude Sonnet 5 holds 2× more — 1M (~1,500 pages) vs 500K (~750 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Claude Sonnet 5 | Grok 4.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic (US) | xAI (US) |
| Released | June 30, 2026 | July 8, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M (~1,500 pages) | 500K (~750 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $2/$10 per 1M tokens | $2/$6 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, image, code | text, image, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Agentic workflows that plan, use tools, and run autonomously
Claude Sonnet 5
Anthropic's most agentic Sonnet, with near-Opus-4.8 performance at Sonnet prices; the default model on Free and Pro — and it carries the larger 1M context.
Multi-step coding, debugging, and tool use
Claude Sonnet 5
Claude Sonnet 5 lists multi-step coding, debugging, and tool use among its strengths; Grok 4.5 does not.
Everyday professional and knowledge work
Claude Sonnet 5
Claude Sonnet 5 lists everyday professional and knowledge work among its strengths; Grok 4.5 does not.
Cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about GPT-5.5-Codex quality at roughly half the cost
Grok 4.5
Claude Sonnet 5 is comparatively weak here — an updated tokenizer that can use 1.0-1.35x more tokens for the same text
Extreme token efficiency — around 4x fewer output tokens per task than Opus 4.8
Grok 4.5
XAI's first coding-focused model — pitched as Opus-class but faster, more token-efficient, and cheaper, undercutting GPT-5.5-Codex — and it is the newer of the two.
In-IDE coding, trained on real Cursor developer sessions and shipped natively in Cursor
Grok 4.5
Grok 4.5 lists in-IDE coding, trained on real Cursor developer sessions and shipped natively in Cursor among its strengths; Claude Sonnet 5 does not.
Largest single-prompt input
Claude Sonnet 5
Its 1M window is about 2× larger than Grok 4.5's 500K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Claude Sonnet 5
Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is agentic workflows that plan, use tools, and run autonomously
→ Claude Sonnet 5
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost
→ Grok 4.5
That is its strongest area.
Claude Sonnet 5: where it fits
Anthropic's most agentic Sonnet, with near-Opus-4.8 performance at Sonnet prices; the default model on Free and Pro. Released June 30, 2026 by Anthropic, it is built for agentic workflows that plan, use tools, and run autonomously, multi-step coding, debugging, and tool use, everyday professional and knowledge work, and long-document analysis and reasoning.
Its trade-offs are real: lower peak accuracy than Opus 4.8 on the hardest tasks, and an updated tokenizer that can use 1.0-1.35x more tokens for the same text. At $2 in / $10 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
Grok 4.5: where it fits
XAI's first coding-focused model — pitched as Opus-class but faster, more token-efficient, and cheaper, undercutting GPT-5.5-Codex. Released July 8, 2026 by xAI, it is built for cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about GPT-5.5-Codex quality at roughly half the cost, extreme token efficiency — around 4x fewer output tokens per task than Opus 4.8, in-IDE coding, trained on real Cursor developer sessions and shipped natively in Cursor, and top-tier placement on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index.
Its trade-offs: smaller 500K context (halved from the 1M generation), with pricing that doubles above 200K tokens, and eU launch delayed; no open weights. At $2 in / $6 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Claude Sonnet 5 and Grok 4.5 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Claude Sonnet 5 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Claude Sonnet 5 for agentic workflows that plan, use tools, and run autonomously, Grok 4.5 for cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Claude Sonnet 5 and Grok 4.5 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.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is Claude Sonnet 5 or Grok 4.5 better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Claude Sonnet 5 leans toward agentic workflows that plan, use tools, and run autonomously while Grok 4.5 leans toward cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 5 or Grok 4.5?
They are priced almost identically, so cost will not decide between them.
Which has the bigger context window?
Claude Sonnet 5 — 1M vs 500K, about 2× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Claude Sonnet 5 and Grok 4.5 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Claude Sonnet 5, Grok 4.5 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 5 or Grok 4.5?
Grok 4.5 — released July 8, 2026, about 8 days after Claude Sonnet 5.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.