Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Grok 4.5
Head-to-head comparison across 1benchmark categories. Overall scores shown here use BenchLM's provisional ranking lane.
Verdict
Grok 4.5 leads for most workloads.
Based on BenchLM composite scores, July 2026.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
40
Grok 4.5
75
Pick Grok 4.5 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Claude 3.5 Sonnet only becomes the better choice if you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model.
Category Radar
Head-to-Head by Category
Category Breakdown
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Δ | Grok 4.5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 49.0 | → 15.7 | 64.7 |
| Agentic | — | — | 83.3 |
| Knowledge | 59.4 | — | — |
Operational Comparison
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Grok 4.5
$3 / $15
$2 / $6
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
200K
500K
Quick Verdict
Pick Grok 4.5 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Claude 3.5 Sonnet only becomes the better choice if you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model.
Grok 4.5 is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 75 to 40. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Grok 4.5's sharpest advantage is in coding, where it averages 64.7 against 49.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is also the more expensive model on tokens at $3.00 input / $15.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $2.00 input / $6.00 output per 1M tokens for Grok 4.5. That is roughly 2.5x on output cost alone. Grok 4.5 is the reasoning model in the pair, while Claude 3.5 Sonnet is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use. Grok 4.5 gives you the larger context window at 500K, compared with 200K for Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
Benchmark Deep Dive
Frequently Asked Questions (2)
Which is better, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Grok 4.5?
Grok 4.5 is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 75 to 40.
Which is better for coding, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Grok 4.5?
Grok 4.5 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 64.7 versus 49. Claude 3.5 Sonnet stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
Related Comparisons
The AI models change fast. We track them for you.
For engineers, researchers, and the plain curious — a weekly brief on new models, ranking shifts, and pricing changes.
Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.