Model comparison
Claude 4 Sonnet vs GPT-5.2
Head-to-head evidence from 15 shared benchmark results across 6 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: Claude 4 Sonnet #158 (Supported); GPT-5.2 #64 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Claude 4 Sonnet and GPT-5.2 share 15 comparable benchmark results. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 1 result is unique to Claude 4 Sonnet; 13 to GPT-5.2.
Updated July 20, 2026- Shared results
- 15
- Claude 4 Sonnet only
- 1
- GPT-5.2 only
- 13
- Comparable categories
- 1 / 8
Pick GPT-5.2 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Claude 4 Sonnet only becomes the better choice if coding is the priority or you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 15 shared benchmark results across 6 evidence categories; 1 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
GPT-5.2 is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 58.43 to 42.79. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Claude 4 Sonnet is also the more expensive model on tokens at $3.00 input / $15.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $1.75 input / $14.00 output per 1M tokens for GPT-5.2. GPT-5.2 is the reasoning model in the pair, while Claude 4 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. GPT-5.2 gives you the larger context window at 400K, compared with 200K for Claude 4 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 4 Sonnet | Δ | GPT-5.2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | Claude 4 Sonnet72.7 | Margin← 2.1 | GPT-5.270.6 |
| Agentic | Claude 4 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-5.255.7 |
| Reasoning | Claude 4 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-5.252.9 |
| Knowledge | Claude 4 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-5.292.4 |
| Math | Claude 4 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-5.235.2 |
| Multimodal | Claude 4 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-5.280.4 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
SWE-bench Verified
CodingA 72.7%B 80%Winner: GPT-5.2Δ 7.3SWE-bench Verified: Claude 4 Sonnet scored 72.7%; GPT-5.2 scored 80%. GPT-5.2 wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Claude 4 Sonnet | GPT-5.2 | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Claude 4 Sonnet$3 input / $15 output | GPT-5.2$1.75 input / $14 output | GPT-5.2 has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Claude 4 Sonnet40 tok/s | GPT-5.273 tok/s | GPT-5.2 has the higher measured throughput. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Claude 4 Sonnet1.33 s | GPT-5.2130.34 s | Claude 4 Sonnet reaches the first token sooner. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Claude 4 Sonnet200K | GPT-5.2400K | GPT-5.2 lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic5 benchmarks
CodingClaude 4 Sonnet wins4 benchmarks
Reasoning3 benchmarks
Knowledge7 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 4 Sonnet | GPT-5.2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 25.5% | 42.2% | GPT-5.2 leads |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 68.3% | 90.3% | GPT-5.2 leads |
| AA-HLESource | 4.0% | 35.4% | GPT-5.2 leads |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -9.2% | -1.0% | GPT-5.2 leads |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 22.4% | 43.8% | GPT-5.2 leads |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 40.8% | 79.7% | Claude 4 Sonnet leads |
| GPQASource | — | 92.4% | Not comparable |
Math3 benchmarks
Multimodal6 benchmarks
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 4 Sonnet | GPT-5.2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | 45.4% | 75.4% | GPT-5.2 leads |
Frequently Asked Questions (2)
Which is better, Claude 4 Sonnet or GPT-5.2?
GPT-5.2 is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 58.43 to 42.79. The biggest single separator in this matchup is SWE-bench Verified, where the scores are 72.7% and 80%.
Which is better for coding, Claude 4 Sonnet or GPT-5.2?
Claude 4 Sonnet has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 72.7 versus 70.6. Inside this category, AA-SciCode is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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