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Model comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-5.1

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 17 shared benchmark results across 7 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

65.07/100
Margin
11.4pts
← winning
GPT-5.1
OpenAI
53.65/100
0 category wins0 category wins

Public leaderboard positions: Claude Sonnet 4.6 #32 (Supported); GPT-5.1 #94 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. Claude Sonnet 4.6 and GPT-5.1 share 17 comparable benchmark results. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 16 results are unique to Claude Sonnet 4.6; 4 to GPT-5.1.

Updated July 20, 2026
Shared results
17
Claude Sonnet 4.6 only
16
GPT-5.1 only
4
Comparable categories
1 / 8

Pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-5.1 only becomes the better choice if you want the cheaper token bill or you want the stronger reasoning-first profile.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 17 shared benchmark results across 7 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

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 65.07 to 53.65. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $3.00 input / $15.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $1.25 input / $10.00 output per 1M tokens for GPT-5.1. GPT-5.1 is the reasoning model in the pair, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 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.

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 scores and score margins for Claude Sonnet 4.6 and GPT-5.1
CategoryClaude Sonnet 4.6ΔGPT-5.1
MathClaude Sonnet 4.626.4MarginTieGPT-5.126.4
AgenticClaude Sonnet 4.665.2MarginNo overlapGPT-5.1Not measured
CodingClaude Sonnet 4.669.1MarginNo overlapGPT-5.1Not measured
KnowledgeClaude Sonnet 4.666.0MarginNo overlapGPT-5.1Not measured
MultimodalClaude Sonnet 4.677.4MarginNo overlapGPT-5.1Not measured

Decisive benchmark drivers

The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.

More
A · Claude Sonnet 4.6B · GPT-5.1

  1. FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)

    Math
    Source ↗
    A 8.300%B 12.500%
    Winner: GPT-5.1Δ 4.2
    FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4): Claude Sonnet 4.6 scored 8.300%; GPT-5.1 scored 12.500%. GPT-5.1 wins this benchmark.

  2. FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)

    Math
    Source ↗
    A 32.400%B 31.034%
    Winner: Claude Sonnet 4.6Δ 1.4
    FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3): Claude Sonnet 4.6 scored 32.400%; GPT-5.1 scored 31.034%. Claude Sonnet 4.6 wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.

MetricClaude Sonnet 4.6GPT-5.1Comparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensClaude Sonnet 4.6$3 input / $15 outputGPT-5.1$1.25 input / $10 outputGPT-5.1 has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondClaude Sonnet 4.644 tok/sGPT-5.1111 tok/sGPT-5.1 has the higher measured throughput.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenClaude Sonnet 4.61.48 sGPT-5.157.47 sClaude Sonnet 4.6 reaches the first token sooner.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensClaude Sonnet 4.6200KGPT-5.1200KListed context windows are equal.

Benchmark Deep Dive

Agentic
BenchmarkClaude Sonnet 4.6GPT-5.1Result
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 59.1%—Not comparable
OSWorld-VerifiedSource 72.1%—Not comparable
Claw-EvalSource 67.8%—Not comparable
CyberGymSource 65.2%—Not comparable
τ²-bench resultsSource 79.5%81.9%GPT-5.1 leads
Gert LabsSource 62.92%41.24%Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads
OSWorld 2.0Source 8.3%—Not comparable
JobBenchSource 36.9%—Not comparable
AA Agentic IndexSource —21.0%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource —24.4%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource —987Not comparable
Coding
BenchmarkClaude Sonnet 4.6GPT-5.1Result
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 79.6%—Not comparable
SWE-RebenchSource 60.7%—Not comparable
React Native EvalsSource 80.6%—Not comparable
Vibe Code BenchSource 51.48%24.61%Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads
cursorBench31Source 48.8%—Not comparable
AA-SciCodeSource 46.9%43.3%Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads
FrontierCode 1.1 MainSource 24.3%—Not comparable
AA Coding IndexSource —49.4%Not comparable
Reasoning
BenchmarkClaude Sonnet 4.6GPT-5.1Result
AA-LCRSource 57.7%75.0%GPT-5.1 leads
CritPtSource 0.9%4.9%GPT-5.1 leads
Knowledge
BenchmarkClaude Sonnet 4.6GPT-5.1Result
GPQASource 89.9%—Not comparable
SuperGPQASource 95%—Not comparable
MMLU-ProSource 79.2%—Not comparable
HLESource 49%—Not comparable
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource 35.9%36.9%GPT-5.1 leads
AA-GPQA DiamondSource 79.9%87.3%GPT-5.1 leads
AA-HLESource 13.2%26.5%GPT-5.1 leads
AA-Omniscience IndexSource -2.9%5.6%GPT-5.1 leads
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource 38.0%37.6%Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource 65.9%51.3%GPT-5.1 leads
MathTie
BenchmarkClaude Sonnet 4.6GPT-5.1Result
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)Source 32.400%31.034%Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads
FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)Source 8.300%12.500%GPT-5.1 leads
Multimodal
BenchmarkClaude Sonnet 4.6GPT-5.1Result
CharXivSource 77.4%—Not comparable
AA-MMMU-ProSource 70.6%75.5%GPT-5.1 leads
Design Arena WebsiteSource 13171220Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads
Inst. Following
BenchmarkClaude Sonnet 4.6GPT-5.1Result
AA-IFBenchSource 41.2%72.9%GPT-5.1 leads
Frequently Asked Questions (2)

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or GPT-5.1?

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 65.07 to 53.65. The biggest single separator in this matchup is FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4), where the scores are 8.300% and 12.500%.

Which is better for math, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or GPT-5.1?

Claude Sonnet 4.6 and GPT-5.1 are effectively tied for math here, both landing at 26.4 on average.

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