Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Grok 3
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 by Anthropic wins on 8 of 16 benchmarks against Grok 3 by xAI, which leads on 6. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from our benchmark data.
Category-by-Category Breakdown
General Intelligence: In general intelligence, Grok 3 scores 1402 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 1395, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 84.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Grok 3's 74.0%.
Coding: In coding, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 91.0% on HumanEval+ compared to Grok 3's 82.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Grok 3's 42.0%, while Grok 3 scores 79.4% on LiveCodeBench compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 65.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1274 on Design Arena ELO compared to Grok 3's 1089, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1297 on Website Arena ELO compared to Grok 3's 1101.
Math: In math, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 88.0% on MATH compared to Grok 3's 82.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 96.0% on GSM8K compared to Grok 3's 93.0%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, Grok 3 scores 84.6% on GPQA Diamond compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 54.3%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 48.0% on ARC-AGI compared to Grok 3's 28.0%.
Context: In context, Grok 3 scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 1.0M.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input tokens and $15.0/1M output tokens, while Grok 3 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output. Both models are priced identically for input tokens.
Speed Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 generates output at 57 tok/s compared to Grok 3's 65 tok/s, and the time to first token is 790 ms for Claude Sonnet 4.6 versus 400 ms for Grok 3. Grok 3 delivers faster throughput.
Verdict
For developers prioritizing coding and math, Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the edge. For those who value general intelligence and speed, Grok 3 is the stronger choice.
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Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Grok 3 — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Grok 3?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 wins on more benchmarks overall (8 vs 6). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.
How does Claude Sonnet 4.6 compare to Grok 3 for coding?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better for coding, scoring 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 42.0%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 cheaper than Grok 3?
Both models are priced the same at $3.0/1M input tokens. Claude Sonnet 4.6 output costs $15.0/1M and Grok 3 output costs $15.0/1M.
Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Grok 3?
Grok 3 is faster, generating output at 65 tok/s compared to 57 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.
What benchmarks does the Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Grok 3 comparison cover?
This comparison covers 16 benchmarks including Chatbot Arena ELO, MMLU-Pro, HumanEval+, MATH, SWE-bench Verified, GPQA Diamond, Output Speed, Time to First Token, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.