Claude 4.6 Sonnet vs Claude 3 Opus
Compare pricing, context windows, and strengths for Claude 4.6 Sonnet by Anthropic and Claude 3 Opus by Anthropic - and see how to put either to work in Appaca.
Claude 4.6 Sonnet
Anthropic's most capable Sonnet model, delivering a full upgrade across coding, computer use, long-context reasoning, agent planning, and professional knowledge work.
View Claude 4.6 SonnetClaude 3 Opus
The most intelligent Claude 3 model, built for highly complex reasoning, analysis, and open-ended problem solving across any domain.
View Claude 3 OpusClaude 4.6 Sonnet vs Claude 3 Opus at a glance
Specs and pricing side by side, from the Appaca AI models directory.
| Spec | Claude 4.6 Sonnet | Claude 3 Opus |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic | Anthropic |
| Model type | Text | Text |
| Context window | 1M tokens | 200K tokens |
| Input price | $3 / 1M tokens | $15 / 1M tokens |
| Output price | $15 / 1M tokens | $75 / 1M tokens |
| Status | Current | Superseded by Claude 4.1 Opus |
How Claude 4.6 Sonnet and Claude 3 Opus differ
What the numbers mean in practice when choosing between Claude 4.6 Sonnet and Claude 3 Opus.
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Claude 4.6 Sonnet is 80% cheaper on input tokens ($3 vs $15 per million), which adds up quickly in document-heavy workloads.
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Claude 4.6 Sonnet is 80% cheaper on output tokens ($15 vs $75 per million) - the bigger factor for tools that generate long documents.
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Claude 4.6 Sonnet's 1M tokens context window is roughly 5x larger than Claude 3 Opus's 200K tokens, so it can work across bigger codebases, contracts, or archives in one pass.
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Claude 3 Opus has been superseded by Claude 4.1 Opus - for new builds, consider the newer model first.
Strengths side by side
Where each model shines, according to benchmarks and provider positioning.
Claude 4.6 Sonnet
1. Most capable Sonnet model yet
- Anthropic describes Sonnet 4.6 as its most capable Sonnet model.
- It is a full upgrade across coding, computer use, long-context reasoning, agent planning, knowledge work, and design.
2. Stronger coding and professional task performance at Sonnet pricing
- Pricing remains at $3/M input and $15/M output, matching Sonnet 4.5.
- Anthropic says early-access developers strongly preferred it to Sonnet 4.5, and often even to Opus 4.5 for practical work.
3. Long-context, agent-friendly reasoning
- Supports up to a 1M token context window in beta.
- Anthropic reports better consistency, fewer false claims of success, fewer hallucinations, and more reliable follow-through on multi-step tasks.
4. Modern API controls for adaptive work
- Supports adaptive thinking and the
effortparameter for balancing speed, cost, and depth. - Gains dynamic filtering for web search and web fetch, helping agent workflows keep only relevant information in context.
Claude 3 Opus
1. Intelligence & Reasoning
- Highest capability in the Claude 3 family
- Near-human comprehension and fluency
- Excels at MMLU, GPQA, GSM8K, advanced reasoning tasks
2. Complex Problem Solving
- Best for research, strategy, multi-step planning
- Handles ambiguous, open-ended tasks with ease
3. Vision & Multimodal Capabilities
- Strong chart/graph understanding
- Processes documents, technical diagrams, and dense visual data
4. Recall & Long-Context Reasoning
- Near-perfect recall (>99% on NIAH benchmark)
- Handles very large documents and multi-file workflows
5. Enterprise-Grade Accuracy
- Significantly reduced hallucinations
- High correctness rate for factual queries
Use Claude 4.6 Sonnet or Claude 3 Opus - or both
Appaca is the AI workspace for operators. Build internal tools and AI co-workers powered by Claude 4.6 Sonnet or Claude 3 Opus - connected to your real data and ready for your whole team. No code, no deployment.
Describe it, and it's built
Tell the Appaca agent the internal tool you need and it builds a working app powered by Claude 4.6 Sonnet or Claude 3 Opus. No code, no API keys, no deployment.
Switch models without rebuilding
Start on Claude 4.6 Sonnet, test the same tool on Claude 3 Opus, and keep whichever performs better - the rest of your app stays exactly as it is.
Automated for the whole team
Schedule tools to run on autopilot - daily digests, weekly reports, real-time triggers - and share them with your whole team from one workspace.
Describe it, and it's built
Tell the Appaca agent what your team needs and it builds a working app powered by Claude 4.6 Sonnet or Claude 3 Opus - connected to the tools you already use.
Related comparisons
See how Claude 4.6 Sonnet and Claude 3 Opus stack up against other models in the directory.
FAQs
Claude 4.6 Sonnet is generally cheaper: $3 input / $15 output per million tokens, versus $15 / $75 for Claude 3 Opus. Actual cost depends on how many tokens your workload reads and writes.
Claude 4.6 Sonnet has the larger context window at 1M tokens, compared to 200K tokens for Claude 3 Opus. A larger window means the model can consider more text at once - useful for long contracts, codebases, or months of records.
It depends on the job. Compare the pricing, context window, and strengths above against your workload - and remember the choice isn't permanent. In Appaca you can build a tool on Claude 4.6 Sonnet, test the same tool on Claude 3 Opus, and switch at any time without rebuilding anything.
Yes. Appaca is a no-code AI workspace: describe the internal tool your team needs and the Appaca agent builds it as a working app powered by Claude 4.6 Sonnet, Claude 3 Opus, or any other model in the directory - with a built-in database, team access, and integrations. No API keys to wire up and nothing to deploy.
Build AI tools with Claude 4.6 Sonnet or Claude 3 Opus
Describe the tool your team needs and get a working app powered by the model you choose - with a built-in database, team access, and integrations. No code, no deployment.