Head-to-head · Updated
Data verifiedClaude Sonnet 4.6 wins for most everyday tasks in 2026. It leads on SWE-bench coding (79.6% vs GPT-5.4's 74.9%), writing quality, and has a dramatically larger context window (1M vs 272K tokens) at a similar price ($3 vs $2.50/1M input). GPT-5.4's one clear edge is desktop computer-use via API — it can click, type, and navigate software autonomously, a capability Claude doesn't match. For developers and knowledge workers not needing agentic desktop control, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the better daily driver.
GPT-5.4
Best for agentic automation and desktop control workflows.
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Best daily driver for coding and writing — the model most developers actually reach for.
Winner| GPT-5.4 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Input cost / 1M tokens | $$0.20/1M | $$3.00/1M |
| Output cost / 1M tokens | $$15.00/1M | $$15.00/1M |
| Context window | 272k tokens | 1M tokens |
| Speed | Balanced | Balanced |
| Price tier | Premium | Premium |
| Benchmarks | ||
| SWE-bench (coding) | 74.9% | 79.6% |
| Arena Elo | 1,355 | 1,340 |
| MMLU | 91% | 88.3% |
Which model wins for each use case — and why.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 79.6% on SWE-bench vs GPT-5.4's 74.9%, and is the default model in Cursor and Windsurf — the leading AI code editors.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 consistently produces more natural, tonally precise prose. For editorial, marketing, and long-form content, it's the stronger pick.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 supports 1M tokens vs GPT-5.4's 272K — nearly 4× more. For analyzing large codebases, documents, or transcripts, Claude wins clearly.
GPT-5.4 is the only frontier model with desktop computer-use via API — it can click, type, and navigate apps autonomously. Claude has no equivalent.
GPT-5.4 costs $2.50/1M input tokens vs Claude Sonnet 4.6's $3/1M — about 17% cheaper at high volume.
Pick GPT-5.4 if…
Pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 if…
Bottom line
For most workflows, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the stronger choice.
The best all-around model for most developers and writers. Strong SWE-bench, excellent writing, 1M context — all at $3/1M input. Hard to beat as a daily driver.
Is GPT-5.4 or Claude Sonnet 4.6 better?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads on coding (SWE-bench 79.6% vs 74.9%), writing, and context window. GPT-5.4 leads on agentic desktop-control and is slightly cheaper per token.
Which is better for coding?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better for coding — higher SWE-bench score and default model in Cursor and Windsurf. GPT-5.4 is capable but trails on benchmarks.
Which has a bigger context window?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 has a 1M token context window vs GPT-5.4's 272K — nearly 4× larger. For long-document analysis, Claude wins.
Is Claude Sonnet cheaper than GPT-5.4?
Slightly more expensive: Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3/1M input vs GPT-5.4's $2.50/1M. Both have $15/1M output. The difference is modest for most workloads.
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