Model comparison
Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs GPT-5.6 Sol
Head-to-head evidence from 3 shared benchmark results across 2 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: Claude 3.5 Sonnet #132 (Estimated); GPT-5.6 Sol #3 (Supported). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Claude 3.5 Sonnet and GPT-5.6 Sol share 3 comparable benchmark results. 3 of 8 categories are comparable. 1 result is unique to Claude 3.5 Sonnet; 43 to GPT-5.6 Sol.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 3
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet only
- 1
- GPT-5.6 Sol only
- 43
- Comparable categories
- 3 / 8
Pick GPT-5.6 Sol if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Claude 3.5 Sonnet only becomes the better choice if you want the cheaper token bill or you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 3 shared benchmark results across 2 evidence categories; 3 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
GPT-5.6 Sol is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 81.96 to 47.74. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
GPT-5.6 Sol's sharpest advantage is in mathematics, where it averages 87.5 against 1.6. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3), 2.069% to 89.000%.
GPT-5.6 Sol is also the more expensive model on tokens at $5.00 input / $30.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $3.00 input / $15.00 output per 1M tokens for Claude 3.5 Sonnet. That is roughly 2.0x on output cost alone. GPT-5.6 Sol is the reasoning model in the pair, while Claude 3.5 Sonnet is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use. GPT-5.6 Sol gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 200K for Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
Category breakdown
Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.
| Category | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Δ | GPT-5.6 Sol |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | Claude 3.5 Sonnet1.6 | Margin→ 85.9 | GPT-5.6 Sol87.5 |
| Knowledge | Claude 3.5 Sonnet59.4 | Margin→ 35.2 | GPT-5.6 Sol94.6 |
| Coding | Claude 3.5 Sonnet49.0 | Margin→ 15.6 | GPT-5.6 Sol64.6 |
| Agentic | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-5.6 Sol92.0 |
| Multimodal | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-5.6 Sol83.0 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)
MathA 2.069%B 89.000%Winner: GPT-5.6 SolΔ 86.9FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3): Claude 3.5 Sonnet scored 2.069%; GPT-5.6 Sol scored 89.000%. GPT-5.6 Sol wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)
MathA 0.000%B 83.000%Winner: GPT-5.6 SolΔ 83FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4): Claude 3.5 Sonnet scored 0.000%; GPT-5.6 Sol scored 83.000%. GPT-5.6 Sol wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
GPQA
KnowledgeA 59.4%B 94.6%Winner: GPT-5.6 SolΔ 35.2GPQA: Claude 3.5 Sonnet scored 59.4%; GPT-5.6 Sol scored 94.6%. GPT-5.6 Sol wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-5.6 Sol | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Claude 3.5 Sonnet$3 input / $15 output | GPT-5.6 Sol$5 input / $30 output | Claude 3.5 Sonnet has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot available | GPT-5.6 SolNot available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot available | GPT-5.6 SolNot available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Claude 3.5 Sonnet200K | GPT-5.6 Sol1M | GPT-5.6 Sol lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic17 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-5.6 Sol | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | — | 91.9% | Not comparable |
| BrowseCompSource | — | 92.2% | Not comparable |
| OSWorld 2.0Source | — | 62.6% | Not comparable |
| CyberGymSource | — | 84.5% | Not comparable |
| ExploitGymSource | — | 33.7% | Not comparable |
| ToolathlonSource | — | 58% | Not comparable |
| AA Agentic IndexSource | — | 54.0% | Not comparable |
| τ²-bench resultsSource | — | 85.1% | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | — | 61.8% | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | — | 1736 | Not comparable |
| AA BriefcaseSource | — | 1501 | Not comparable |
| AA ITBenchSource | — | 56.2% | Not comparable |
| AA Tau3 BankingSource | — | 33.0% | Not comparable |
| AA AutomationBenchSource | — | 51.2% | Not comparable |
| AA Harvey LABSource | — | 87.2% | Not comparable |
| terminalBenchHardSource | — | 65.9% | Not comparable |
| aaTerminalBench21Source | — | 88% | Not comparable |
CodingGPT-5.6 Sol wins9 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-5.6 Sol | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench VerifiedSource | 49% | — | Not comparable |
| SWE-bench ProSource | — | 64.6% | Not comparable |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | — | 91.9% | Not comparable |
| deepSweSource | — | 72.7% | Not comparable |
| FrontierCode 1.1 ExtendedSource | — | 60.6% | Not comparable |
| cursorBench32Source | — | 67.2% | Not comparable |
| VulcanBench v3Source | — | 87.0% | Not comparable |
| AA Coding IndexSource | — | 77.4% | Not comparable |
| AA-SciCodeSource | — | 56.1% | Not comparable |
Reasoning4 benchmarks
KnowledgeGPT-5.6 Sol wins10 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-5.6 Sol | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQASource | 59.4% | 94.6% | GPT-5.6 Sol leads |
| GPQA-DSource | — | 94.6% | Not comparable |
| HealthBench ProfessionalSource | — | 60.5% | Not comparable |
| HealthBench HardSource | — | 33.1% | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | — | 58.9% | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | — | 94.1% | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | — | 47.2% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | — | 21.7% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | — | 58.5% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | — | 88.8% | Not comparable |
MathGPT-5.6 Sol wins3 benchmarks
Multimodal3 benchmarks
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | GPT-5.6 Sol | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | — | 72.7% | Not comparable |
Frequently Asked Questions (4)
Which is better, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-5.6 Sol?
GPT-5.6 Sol is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 81.96 to 47.74. The biggest single separator in this matchup is FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3), where the scores are 2.069% and 89.000%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-5.6 Sol?
GPT-5.6 Sol has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 94.6 versus 59.4. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for coding, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-5.6 Sol?
GPT-5.6 Sol has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 64.6 versus 49. Claude 3.5 Sonnet stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
Which is better for math, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-5.6 Sol?
GPT-5.6 Sol has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 87.5 versus 1.6. Inside this category, FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3) is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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