Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs OpenAI o1
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
AnthropicPrevious generation Sonnet. Still excellent for coding tasks at the same price point.
| Input | $3.00/M |
| Output | $15.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Coding assistants, web development, data analysis |
| Benchmark | 72/100 |
OpenAI o1
OpenAIReasoning model optimized for complex problem-solving. Excels at math, science, and advanced coding.
| Input | $15.00/M |
| Output | $60.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Complex math, advanced coding, scientific reasoning |
| Benchmark | 83/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | OpenAI o1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72 | 83 | o1 leads by 11pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 68 | 80 | o1 leads by 12pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 75 | 84 | o1 leads by 9pts |
| HumanEval | 90 | 95 | o1 leads by 5pts |
| BigCodeBench | 58 | 73 | o1 leads by 15pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | OpenAI o1 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.62 | $2.32 | Claude 3.5 Sonnet saves $1.71 (74%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $4.66 | $17.25 | Claude 3.5 Sonnet saves $12.59 (73%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $23.29 | $86.25 | Claude 3.5 Sonnet saves $62.96 (73%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $1.20 | $4.13 | Claude 3.5 Sonnet saves $2.92 (71%) |
Value Analysis (Price per Benchmark Score Point)
Lower is better — how much you pay for each point of benchmark performance.
| Model | Overall Score | Price per Score Point | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude 3.5 Sonnet | 72 | $0.042/pt | Better value |
| OpenAI o1 | 83 | $0.181/pt | Higher cost per point |
Claude 3.5 Sonnet delivers the best value at $0.042 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
- + Balanced performance
- + Computer use capability
- + Artifact generation
- - Older architecture
- - Falling behind Sonnet 4
OpenAI o1
- + Strong step-by-step reasoning
- + Best at math-heavy coding
- - Expensive
- - Slow
Verdict
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is cheaper at $3.00/M, but OpenAI o1 scores higher on benchmarks (83 vs 72).
Choose Claude 3.5 Sonnet for cost-sensitive projects, OpenAI o1 when performance matters most.
Compare with Other Models
Claude Sonnet 4
AnthropicAnthropic's balanced model for coding and general tasks. Best price-performance ratio in the Claude family.
Claude Opus 4
AnthropicAnthropic's most powerful model. Best for complex reasoning and challenging coding tasks.
Claude 3.5 Haiku
AnthropicFast, cost-effective model for high-volume tasks. Great for code review and simple queries.
Claude 3 Opus
AnthropicFirst generation Opus. Highest reasoning capability in the Claude 3 family.
Claude 3 Sonnet
AnthropicFirst generation Sonnet. Balanced performance for general tasks.
Claude 3 Haiku
AnthropicCheapest Claude model. Fast responses for simple tasks and basic coding.