Model comparison
Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs MAI-Thinking-1
Head-to-head evidence from 2 shared benchmark results across 2 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: Claude 3.5 Sonnet #132 (Estimated); MAI-Thinking-1 unranked (Not scored). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Claude 3.5 Sonnet and MAI-Thinking-1 share 2 comparable benchmark results. 3 of 8 categories are comparable. 2 results are unique to Claude 3.5 Sonnet; 11 to MAI-Thinking-1.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 2
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet only
- 2
- MAI-Thinking-1 only
- 11
- Comparable categories
- 3 / 8
Treat this as a split decision. Claude 3.5 Sonnet makes more sense if you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model; MAI-Thinking-1 is the better fit if mathematics is the priority or you need the larger 256K context window.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 2 shared benchmark results across 2 evidence categories; 3 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
Claude 3.5 Sonnet and MAI-Thinking-1 finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.
MAI-Thinking-1 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. MAI-Thinking-1 gives you the larger context window at 256K, compared with 200K for Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
Category breakdown
Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.
| Category | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Δ | MAI-Thinking-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | Claude 3.5 Sonnet1.6 | Margin→ 88.1 | MAI-Thinking-189.7 |
| Coding | Claude 3.5 Sonnet49.0 | Margin→ 16.5 | MAI-Thinking-165.5 |
| Knowledge | Claude 3.5 Sonnet59.4 | Margin→ 13.1 | MAI-Thinking-172.5 |
| Agentic | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | MAI-Thinking-146.0 |
| Inst. Following | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | MAI-Thinking-185.0 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
GPQA
KnowledgeA 59.4%B 84.2%Winner: MAI-Thinking-1Δ 24.8GPQA: Claude 3.5 Sonnet scored 59.4%; MAI-Thinking-1 scored 84.2%. MAI-Thinking-1 wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
SWE-bench Verified
CodingA 49%B 73.5%Winner: MAI-Thinking-1Δ 24.5SWE-bench Verified: Claude 3.5 Sonnet scored 49%; MAI-Thinking-1 scored 73.5%. MAI-Thinking-1 wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | MAI-Thinking-1 | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Claude 3.5 Sonnet$3 input / $15 output | MAI-Thinking-1Not available | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot available | MAI-Thinking-1Not available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot available | MAI-Thinking-1Not available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Claude 3.5 Sonnet200K | MAI-Thinking-1256K | MAI-Thinking-1 lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | MAI-Thinking-1 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | — | 46% | Not comparable |
CodingMAI-Thinking-1 wins3 benchmarks
Reasoning1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | MAI-Thinking-1 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphwalks BFS 128KSource | — | 90% | Not comparable |
KnowledgeMAI-Thinking-1 wins4 benchmarks
MathMAI-Thinking-1 wins5 benchmarks
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | MAI-Thinking-1 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBenchSource | — | 85% | Not comparable |
Frequently Asked Questions (4)
Which is better, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or MAI-Thinking-1?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet and MAI-Thinking-1 are tied on the BenchAlign overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or MAI-Thinking-1?
MAI-Thinking-1 has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 72.5 versus 59.4. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for coding, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or MAI-Thinking-1?
MAI-Thinking-1 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 65.5 versus 49. Inside this category, SWE-bench Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for math, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or MAI-Thinking-1?
MAI-Thinking-1 has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 89.7 versus 1.6. Claude 3.5 Sonnet stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
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