Head-to-head · Updated
Data verifiedClaude Opus 4.7 is the premium Anthropic pick — it leads SWE-Bench Pro at 64.3% and has higher recommendation scores across the board. Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 79.6% on the standard SWE-bench Verified benchmark and is ~40% cheaper ($3 vs $5/1M input, $15 vs $25/1M output). Both share a 1M token context window. For high-stakes coding agents, long complex tasks, and situations where output quality is non-negotiable, Opus 4.7 justifies the premium. For daily development, writing, and research, Sonnet 4.6 delivers 90% of the value at 60% of the cost.
Claude Opus 4.7
Best premium model for coding agents and high-stakes engineering work.
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Best daily driver for coding and writing — the model most developers actually reach for.
| Claude Opus 4.7 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Input cost / 1M tokens | $$5.00/1M | $$3.00/1M |
| Output cost / 1M tokens | $$25.00/1M | $$15.00/1M |
| Context window | 1M tokens | 1M tokens |
| Speed | Deliberate | Balanced |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Benchmarks | ||
| SWE-bench (coding) | 80% | 79.6% |
| Arena Elo | 1,800 | 1,340 |
| MMLU | 92% | 88.3% |
Which model wins for each use case — and why.
Claude Opus 4.7 leads on SWE-Bench Pro (64.3%) — the hardest public coding benchmark. For autonomous PR review and complex multi-file engineering, Opus has the higher ceiling.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified and is the default in Cursor and Windsurf. For daily coding, its quality gap from Opus is minimal.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads the writing category (recommendation score 98) and consistently produces more polished prose for content and editorial work.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3/$15 per 1M tokens vs Opus 4.7's $5/$25. Sonnet is 40% cheaper on input and output — significant at scale.
For mission-critical tasks where errors are expensive — complex architectural decisions, high-value engineering, senior-level analysis — Opus 4.7 justifies the premium.
Pick Claude Opus 4.7 if…
Pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 if…
Is Claude Opus 4.7 or Sonnet 4.6 better?
Opus 4.7 has the higher coding ceiling and is better for complex autonomous tasks. Sonnet 4.6 is better for everyday use — it's 40% cheaper with excellent performance across coding, writing, and research.
Is it worth paying for Claude Opus 4.7 over Sonnet 4.6?
Only if you're running high-stakes coding agents or complex autonomous workflows where the quality ceiling matters. For most developers and content teams, Sonnet 4.6 is the smarter choice.
How much more expensive is Claude Opus 4.7?
Opus 4.7 costs $5/$25 per 1M tokens vs Sonnet 4.6's $3/$15. That's 67% more expensive on input and 67% more on output. At 10M tokens/month, you'd pay $150 more with Opus.
Do both models have the same context window?
Yes — both Claude Opus 4.7 and Claude Sonnet 4.6 support a 1M token context window. Context length is not the differentiator between them.
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