API cost decision in 10 seconds

🔥Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs NewGrok Build 0.1

Pick Grok Build 0.1 for lower cost; pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Grok Build 0.1 for lower cost; pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok Build 0.1 is estimated at $2 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4.6, saving $8.5 (81% lower).

Cost-first pickGrok Build 0.1
Context-first pickClaude Sonnet 4.6
Sample savings$8.581%
10x traffic gap$85

Claude Sonnet 4.6 has more context, but Grok Build 0.1 saves $8.5 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $85. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Grok Build 0.1 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickClaude Sonnet 4.6Grok Build 0.1
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputGrok Build 0.1$22.5$6
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputGrok Build 0.1$18$3
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputGrok Build 0.1$78$11
Cheaper input Grok Build 0.1 $3 vs $1 / 1M

Grok Build 0.1 is $2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (66.7% lower; 3x difference).

Cheaper output Grok Build 0.1 $15 vs $2 / 1M

Grok Build 0.1 is $13 cheaper per 1M output tokens (86.7% lower; 7.5x difference).

Larger context Claude Sonnet 4.6 1M vs 256K

Claude Sonnet 4.6 has 744K more context (3.91x larger).

Sample workload Grok Build 0.1 $10.5 vs $2

Grok Build 0.1 is $8.5 cheaper on the standard workload (81% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Grok Build 0.1 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

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

Verdict

Grok Build 0.1 has the lower input price; Grok Build 0.1 has the lower output price; Claude Sonnet 4.6 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Grok Build 0.1 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4.6 and $2 for Grok Build 0.1.

Best Fit

Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Grok Build 0.1 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok Build 0.1 is estimated at $2 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4.6, saving $8.5 (81% lower).
  • Grok Build 0.1 is $8.5 cheaper on the standard workload (81% lower).
  • Grok Build 0.1 is $2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (66.7% lower; 3x difference).
  • Grok Build 0.1 is $13 cheaper per 1M output tokens (86.7% lower; 7.5x difference).
  • Claude Sonnet 4.6 has 744K more context (3.91x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
Feature🔥Claude Sonnet 4.6
(Anthropic)		NewGrok Build 0.1
(xAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$3$1
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$15$2
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$10.5$2
Context Window1M256K
Release Date
Popularity#4

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionGrok Build 0.1On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok Build 0.1 is estimated at $2 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4.6, saving $8.5 (81% lower).
High-volume input processingGrok Build 0.1Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsGrok Build 0.1Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workClaude Sonnet 4.6A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • Claude 3 Haiku can replace Claude Sonnet 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.88.
  • Claude 3.5 Haiku can replace Claude Sonnet 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.8.
  • Anthropic Claude Haiku Latest can replace Claude Sonnet 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.
  • Claude Haiku 4.5 can replace Claude Sonnet 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.
Larger context near this budget
  • Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
  • GPT-5.4 offers 1.05M context with $10 sample workload cost.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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Anthropic catalog

Review all tracked Anthropic models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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xAI catalog

Check other xAI models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

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Claude Sonnet 4.6

Sonnet 4.6 is Anthropic's most capable Sonnet-class model yet, with frontier performance across coding, agents, and professional work. It excels at iterative development, complex codebase navigation, end-to-end project management with...

Grok Build 0.1

Grok Build 0.1 is xAI’s fast coding model trained specifically for agentic software engineering workflows. It supports text and image inputs with text output, and is optimized for interactive coding...