Claude vs Gemini
As of October 2026, Claude Opus 5.5 and Gemini 4 Argon have public point estimates of 86.43 at #1 and 81.87 at #6. Claude Opus 5.5 leads by point estimate. The conditional score ranges (80.4–92.4 and 72.1–91.6) overlap. Rank confidence has not been validated for these ranges. Gemini's top-ranked model is the cheaper one: Gemini 4 Argon at $2/$10 per million input/output tokens, against Claude Opus 5.5 at $4/$20.
This page compares Claude and Gemini as products, anchored to the flagship models behind each one: Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Fable 5.1, Claude Opus 5, and Claude Sonnet 5.5 on the Claude side, and Google's Gemini 4 Argon, Gemini 3.8 Flash, and Gemini 3.1 Pro on the Gemini side. Every number below is BenchLM's sourced benchmark or pricing data for those specific models.
Phrase it as "Claude vs Gemini" or "Gemini vs Claude": the score table below follows the same public ranks as the main leaderboard, while pricing and raw benchmark rows remain separate evidence.
The short answer
The headline number favors Claude Opus 5.5 at 86.43. Gemini's highest row in this product set is Gemini 4 Argon at 81.87.
Claude's case is coding. Claude Opus 5.5 posts 89.9 on SWE-bench Pro, and no Gemini model here has a sourced SWE-bench Pro row. Those raw results do not override the public overall projection.
Then there is price. Claude's top-ranked model has the higher point estimate. Gemini's top-ranked model costs less at listed token rates. Check the category evidence and your own workloads before choosing. Even the cheapest Claude model here, Claude Sonnet 5.5 at $2 / $10, costs more than Gemini 3.8 Flash at $0.75 / $3.75. If your work is code, pay for Claude; for almost everything else, Gemini is the better deal.
Claude vs Gemini: the models behind the apps
Here are the current flagships side by side. Public scores and ranks come from the main leaderboard lane; the preference column is a human-preference rating from an independent index, shown where one is published.
| Model | Score | Preference rating | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5.5Anthropic | 86.43 | 1503.7 | 1M |
| Claude Fable 5.1Anthropic | 82.09 | 1501.1 | 1M |
| Claude Opus 5Anthropic | 79.44 | 1489.5 | — |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5Anthropic | 83.92 | 1471.0 | 1M |
| Gemini 4 ArgonGoogle | 81.87 | 1525.2 | — |
| Gemini 3.8 FlashGoogle | 73.17 | 1494.8 | 1M |
| Gemini 3.1 ProGoogle | 65.17 | 1487.0 | 1M |
For the benchmark-by-benchmark detail, the dedicated model comparison pages go deeper: Claude Opus 5.5 vs Gemini 4 Argon is the top-ranked matchup, and Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs Gemini 3.8 Flash covers the value tiers.
Claude vs Gemini pricing: subscriptions and API
Neither product anchors to ChatGPT's $20/month reference point in quite the same way. Anthropic sells Claude Pro in the standard consumer price band, with usage caps and higher Max tiers for heavy users. Google bundles Gemini's top models into its paid Google AI subscription tiers alongside Workspace and storage perks, and its free tier is the most generous of the major assistants.
The API is where you can compare exactly. Gemini 3.8 Flash is the cheapest model on this page at $0.75 / $3.75 per million input / output tokens, and Claude Fable 5.1 the most expensive at $10 / $50. Full rate cards live on the Anthropic API pricing and Google API pricing hubs.
| Model | Input / 1M tokens | Output / 1M tokens | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5.5 | $4.00 | $20.00 | — |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | $10.00 | $50.00 | — |
| Claude Opus 5 | $5.00 | $25.00 | — |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | $2.00 | $10.00 | — |
| Gemini 4 Argon | $2.00 | $10.00 | — |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | $0.75 | $3.75 | Introductory rate through Dec 31, 2026; $1.50 / $7.50 after |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro | $2.00 | $12.00 | Rises to $4 / $18 above 200K-token prompts |
Which should you pick?
Pick Claude if…
- Coding is the job: Claude Sonnet 5.5 ranks #1 on the public coding ranking, against #5 for Gemini 4 Argon.
- Agentic reliability counts: Claude Opus 5.5 ranks #1 on the public agentic ranking, against #4 for Gemini 4 Argon.
- You want a strong value tier: Claude Sonnet 5.5 lists at $2 / $10.
Pick Gemini if…
- Price decides it: $2 / $10 per million tokens for Gemini 4 Argon versus $4 / $20 for Claude Opus 5.5.
- You want a budget tier that still ranks: Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 73.17 at #12 for $0.75 / $3.75.
How this comparison works
BenchLM compares products through the models that power them — the Claude app and the Gemini app each swap in new flagship models several times a year, so a product verdict is only as current as the models behind it. Overall scores use the current public ranking lane; preference ratings come from an independent human-preference index and appear only where one has been published; API prices come from each provider's official rate card as recorded in BenchLM's pricing data. Individual benchmark scores quoted in the text (SWE-bench Pro) come from the same sourced dataset that powers every model comparison page on the site.
Questions
Is Claude better than Gemini?
On the current public score, yes: Claude Opus 5.5 posts 86.43 at #1, while Gemini 4 Argon posts 81.87 at #6. This is the point-estimate order; the conditional ranges do not establish rank confidence. Gemini's stronger argument is lower cost.
Is Claude cheaper than Gemini?
No, Gemini is cheaper at both ends. At the top of the ranking, Claude Opus 5.5 costs $4 input / $20 output per million tokens against $2 / $10 for Gemini 4 Argon. The cheapest model on each side is Claude Sonnet 5.5 at $2 / $10 and Gemini 3.8 Flash at $0.75 / $3.75.
Which is better for coding, Claude or Gemini?
Claude, on the public coding ranking: Claude Sonnet 5.5 ranks #1 at 84.02, against Gemini 4 Argon at #5 with 72.41. Claude Sonnet 5.5 leads by point estimate; its evidence label is Supported. The conditional ranges do not establish rank confidence. Gemini's case is cost: Gemini 3.8 Flash lists at $0.75 / $3.75 per million tokens.
Can I use both Claude and Gemini?
Yes. Claude covers the hard coding and agentic path, where Claude Sonnet 5.5 ranks #1 on coding and Claude Opus 5.5 #1 on agentic work. Gemini covers high-volume everyday queries: Gemini 3.8 Flash lists at under half the token rate of Claude Sonnet 5.5, the cheapest Claude model here, and Google adds a generous free tier.