Model comparison
Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs o3-mini
Head-to-head evidence from 2 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); o3-mini #136 (Supported). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Claude 3.5 Sonnet and o3-mini share 2 comparable benchmark results. 2 of 8 categories are comparable. 2 results are unique to Claude 3.5 Sonnet; 8 to o3-mini.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 2
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet only
- 2
- o3-mini only
- 8
- Comparable categories
- 2 / 8
Pick Claude 3.5 Sonnet if you want the stronger benchmark profile. o3-mini only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 2 shared benchmark results across 2 evidence categories; 2 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
Claude 3.5 Sonnet has the cleaner BenchAlign overall profile here, landing at 47.74 versus 47.41. It is a real lead, but still close enough that category-level strengths matter more than the headline number.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is also the more expensive model on tokens at $3.00 input / $15.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $1.10 input / $4.40 output per 1M tokens for o3-mini. That is roughly 3.4x on output cost alone. o3-mini 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.
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 | o3-mini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Claude 3.5 Sonnet59.4 | Margin→ 17.8 | o3-mini77.2 |
| Coding | Claude 3.5 Sonnet49.0 | Margin→ 0.3 | o3-mini49.3 |
| Math | Claude 3.5 Sonnet1.6 | MarginNo overlap | o3-miniNot measured |
| Inst. Following | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot measured | MarginNo overlap | o3-mini93.9 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
GPQA
KnowledgeA 59.4%B 77.2%Winner: o3-miniΔ 17.8GPQA: Claude 3.5 Sonnet scored 59.4%; o3-mini scored 77.2%. o3-mini wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
SWE-bench Verified
CodingA 49%B 49.3%Winner: o3-miniΔ 0.3SWE-bench Verified: Claude 3.5 Sonnet scored 49%; o3-mini scored 49.3%. o3-mini 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 | o3-mini | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Claude 3.5 Sonnet$3 input / $15 output | o3-mini$1.1 input / $4.4 output | o3-mini has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot available | o3-mini160 tok/s | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Claude 3.5 SonnetNot available | o3-mini7.12 s | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Claude 3.5 Sonnet200K | o3-mini200K | Listed context windows are equal. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Frequently Asked Questions (3)
Which is better, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or o3-mini?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 47.74 to 47.41. The biggest single separator in this matchup is GPQA, where the scores are 59.4% and 77.2%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or o3-mini?
o3-mini has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 77.2 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 o3-mini?
o3-mini has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 49.3 versus 49. Inside this category, SWE-bench Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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