Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Grok 4 Fast
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 by Anthropic wins on 11 of 16 benchmarks against Grok 4 Fast by xAI, which leads on 5. 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, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1395 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to Grok 4 Fast's 1370, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 84.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Grok 4 Fast's 80.0%.
Coding: In coding, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 91.0% on HumanEval+ compared to Grok 4 Fast's 85.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Grok 4 Fast's 48.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 65.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to Grok 4 Fast's 52.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1274 on Design Arena ELO compared to Grok 4 Fast's 1107, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1297 on Website Arena ELO compared to Grok 4 Fast's 1099.
Math: In math, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 88.0% on MATH compared to Grok 4 Fast's 84.0%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 96.0% on GSM8K compared to Grok 4 Fast's 94.0%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, Grok 4 Fast scores 60.0% 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 4 Fast's 38.0%.
Context: In context, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to Grok 4 Fast's 256K.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input tokens and $15.0/1M output tokens, while Grok 4 Fast costs $0.20/1M input and $0.50/1M output. Grok 4 Fast is the more affordable option for API usage.
Speed Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 generates output at 57 tok/s compared to Grok 4 Fast's 110 tok/s, and the time to first token is 790 ms for Claude Sonnet 4.6 versus 220 ms for Grok 4 Fast. Grok 4 Fast delivers faster throughput.
Verdict
For developers prioritizing coding and general intelligence and math, Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the edge. For those who value affordability and speed, Grok 4 Fast is the stronger choice.
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Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Grok 4 Fast — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Grok 4 Fast?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 wins on more benchmarks overall (11 vs 5). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.
How does Claude Sonnet 4.6 compare to Grok 4 Fast for coding?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better for coding, scoring 79.6% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 48.0%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 cheaper than Grok 4 Fast?
Yes, Grok 4 Fast is cheaper. Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output tokens. Grok 4 Fast costs $0.20/1M input and $0.50/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Grok 4 Fast?
Grok 4 Fast is faster, generating output at 110 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 4 Fast 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.