Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
🔥Claude Opus 4.7 vs 🔥Claude Sonnet 4.6
Pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 when budget is the priority.
Pricing data updated:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 when budget is the priority.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is estimated at $10.5 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.7, saving $7 (40% lower).
Cost-first pickClaude Sonnet 4.6
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$740%
10x traffic gap$70
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $70. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $10 cheaper per 1M output tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
Both models report the same context window at 1M tokens.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $7 cheaper on the standard workload (40% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.
Quick Decision
Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the lower input price; Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.7 and $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Choose Claude Opus 4.7 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is estimated at $10.5 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.7, saving $7 (40% lower).
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $7 cheaper on the standard workload (40% lower).
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $10 cheaper per 1M output tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
- Both models report the same context window at 1M tokens.
| Feature | 🔥Claude Opus 4.7 (Anthropic) | 🔥Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $5 | $3 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $25 | $15 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $17.5 | $10.5 |
| Context Window | 1M | 1M |
| Release Date | 2026-04-16 | 2026-02-17 |
| Popularity Rank current rank | #2 | #3 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is estimated at $10.5 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.7, saving $7 (40% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Tie | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
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