Claude Sonnet 5 vs OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol
Claude Sonnet 5 has a lower output price, while GPT-5.6 Sol is positioned as a balanced frontier option with strong tooling.
Quick verdict
Claude Sonnet 5 is often the better price/quality default for production coding and writing. GPT-5.6 Sol is the stronger choice when you want OpenAI tooling, structured output behavior and broad product-work coverage.
Side-by-side comparison
| Field | Claude Sonnet 5 | OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic | OpenAI |
| Context window | 1M tokens | 1.05M tokens |
| Input / 1M | $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Output / 1M | $10.00 | $10.00 |
| Modalities | Text, Vision, Files | Text, Vision, Files |
| Best for | Overall, Coding, Agents | Overall, Coding, Agents |
Cost estimates
| Workload | Input | Output | Claude Sonnet 5 | OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick test | 20,000 | 5,000 | $0.090 | $0.090 |
| Product chat month | 500,000 | 125,000 | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Document batch | 5,000,000 | 1,000,000 | $20.00 | $20.00 |
Estimates use list input/output prices and exclude cache discounts, provider surcharges and tool fees.
Choose Claude Sonnet 5 if
- ✓You want the lower output price at this quality tier
- ✓Your workload is code review, technical writing or long-context reasoning
- ✓You value reliable instruction following and agent behavior
Choose OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol if
- ✓You prefer the OpenAI ecosystem and tool behavior
- ✓You need a balanced model for mixed product workloads
- ✓Your evaluation shows better output quality for your prompts
FAQ
Is Claude Sonnet 5 cheaper than OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol?
Claude Sonnet 5 costs $2.00 input and $10.00 output per 1M tokens. OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol costs $2.00 input and $10.00 output per 1M tokens.
Which model has the larger context window?
Claude Sonnet 5 offers 1M tokens; OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol offers 1.05M tokens. Provider-specific limits can vary by route.
Which one should I choose?
Claude Sonnet 5 is often the better price/quality default for production coding and writing. GPT-5.6 Sol is the stronger choice when you want OpenAI tooling, structured output behavior and broad product-work coverage.
Pricing and context data are based on a 2026-09-05 snapshot. Provider limits and pricing can change; verify on OpenRouter before production.