Claude 3 Sonnet vs Grok 3 Mini
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Claude 3 Sonnet
AnthropicFirst generation Sonnet. Balanced performance for general tasks.
| Input | $3.00/M |
| Output | $15.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | General-purpose coding and reasoning |
| Benchmark | 65/100 |
Grok 3 Mini
xAICost-effective xAI model for high-volume tasks. Good balance of capability and affordability.
| Input | $0.300/M |
| Output | $0.500/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | High-volume tasks, simple coding, cost-sensitive projects |
| Benchmark | 50/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Claude 3 Sonnet | Grok 3 Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65 | 50 | Claude 3 Sonnet leads by 15pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 58 | 42 | Claude 3 Sonnet leads by 16pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 68 | 52 | Claude 3 Sonnet leads by 16pts |
| HumanEval | 85 | 72 | Claude 3 Sonnet leads by 13pts |
| BigCodeBench | 50 | 36 | Claude 3 Sonnet leads by 14pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | Claude 3 Sonnet | Grok 3 Mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.55 | $0.03 | Grok 3 Mini saves $0.53 (95%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $4.05 | $0.21 | Grok 3 Mini saves $3.84 (95%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $20.25 | $1.02 | Grok 3 Mini saves $19.23 (95%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.90 | $0.07 | Grok 3 Mini saves $0.83 (93%) |
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 Sonnet | 65 | $0.046/pt | Higher cost per point |
| Grok 3 Mini | 50 | $0.006/pt | Better value |
Grok 3 Mini delivers the best value at $0.006 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Claude 3 Sonnet
- + Reliable
- + Good value
- - Two generations behind
Grok 3 Mini
- + Budget option
- + Fast
- - Limited capabilities
Verdict
Grok 3 Mini is cheaper at $0.300/M, but Claude 3 Sonnet scores higher on benchmarks (65 vs 50).
Choose Grok 3 Mini for cost-sensitive projects, Claude 3 Sonnet 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 Sonnet
AnthropicPrevious generation Sonnet. Still excellent for coding tasks at the same price point.
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 Haiku
AnthropicCheapest Claude model. Fast responses for simple tasks and basic coding.