Model comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Composer 2
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 Sonnet 4.6 #32 (Supported); Composer 2 unranked (Not scored). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Composer 2 share 3 comparable benchmark results. 2 of 8 categories are comparable. 30 results are unique to Claude Sonnet 4.6; 2 to Composer 2.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 only
- 30
- Composer 2 only
- 2
- Comparable categories
- 2 / 8
Treat this as a split decision. Claude Sonnet 4.6 makes more sense if coding is the priority or you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model; Composer 2 is the better fit if you want the cheaper token bill or you want the stronger reasoning-first profile.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 3 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 Sonnet 4.6 and Composer 2 finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $3.00 input / $15.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.50 input / $2.50 output per 1M tokens for Composer 2. That is roughly 6.0x on output cost alone. Composer 2 is the reasoning model in the pair, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 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 Sonnet 4.6 | Δ | Composer 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | Claude Sonnet 4.669.1 | Margin← 11.1 | Composer 258.0 |
| Agentic | Claude Sonnet 4.665.2 | Margin← 3.5 | Composer 261.7 |
| Knowledge | Claude Sonnet 4.666.0 | MarginNo overlap | Composer 2Not measured |
| Math | Claude Sonnet 4.626.4 | MarginNo overlap | Composer 2Not measured |
| Multimodal | Claude Sonnet 4.677.4 | MarginNo overlap | Composer 2Not measured |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
SWE-Rebench
CodingA 60.7%B 58%Winner: Claude Sonnet 4.6Δ 2.7SWE-Rebench: Claude Sonnet 4.6 scored 60.7%; Composer 2 scored 58%. Claude Sonnet 4.6 wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
Terminal-Bench 2.0
AgenticA 59.1%B 61.7%Winner: Composer 2Δ 2.6Terminal-Bench 2.0: Claude Sonnet 4.6 scored 59.1%; Composer 2 scored 61.7%. Composer 2 wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Composer 2 | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Claude Sonnet 4.6$3 input / $15 output | Composer 2$0.5 input / $2.5 output | Composer 2 has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Claude Sonnet 4.644 tok/s | Composer 2Not available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Claude Sonnet 4.61.48 s | Composer 2Not available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Claude Sonnet 4.6200K | Composer 2200K | Listed context windows are equal. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
AgenticClaude Sonnet 4.6 wins8 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Composer 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 59.1% | 61.7% | Composer 2 leads |
| OSWorld-VerifiedSource | 72.1% | — | Not comparable |
| Claw-EvalSource | 67.8% | — | Not comparable |
| CyberGymSource | 65.2% | — | Not comparable |
| τ²-bench resultsSource | 79.5% | — | Not comparable |
| Gert LabsSource | 62.92% | — | Not comparable |
| OSWorld 2.0Source | 8.3% | — | Not comparable |
| JobBenchSource | 36.9% | — | Not comparable |
CodingClaude Sonnet 4.6 wins9 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Composer 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench VerifiedSource | 79.6% | — | Not comparable |
| SWE-RebenchSource | 60.7% | 58% | Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads |
| React Native EvalsSource | 80.6% | 96.1% | Composer 2 leads |
| Vibe Code BenchSource | 51.48% | — | Not comparable |
| cursorBench31Source | 48.8% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-SciCodeSource | 46.9% | — | Not comparable |
| FrontierCode 1.1 MainSource | 24.3% | — | Not comparable |
| SWE MultilingualSource | — | 73.7% | Not comparable |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | — | 61.7% | Not comparable |
Reasoning2 benchmarks
Knowledge10 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Composer 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQASource | 89.9% | — | Not comparable |
| SuperGPQASource | 95% | — | Not comparable |
| MMLU-ProSource | 79.2% | — | Not comparable |
| HLESource | 49% | — | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 35.9% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 79.9% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | 13.2% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -2.9% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 38.0% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 65.9% | — | Not comparable |
Math2 benchmarks
Multimodal3 benchmarks
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Composer 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | 41.2% | — | Not comparable |
Frequently Asked Questions (3)
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Composer 2?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Composer 2 are tied on the BenchAlign overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.
Which is better for coding, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Composer 2?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 69.1 versus 58. Inside this category, React Native Evals is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for agentic tasks, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Composer 2?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 65.2 versus 61.7. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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