Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
GPT-5.5 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6
Pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 only if the larger context window matters more.
Pricing data updated:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is estimated at $10.5 vs $20 for GPT-5.5, saving $9.5 (47.5% lower).
Cost-first pickClaude Sonnet 4.6
Context-first pickGPT-5.5
Sample savings$9.547.5%
10x traffic gap$95
GPT-5.5 has more context, but Claude Sonnet 4.6 saves $9.5 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $95. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Claude Sonnet 4.6 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | GPT-5.5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | $40 | $22.5 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | $35 | $18 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | $155 | $78 |
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $15 cheaper per 1M output tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
GPT-5.5 has 50K more context (1.05x larger).
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $9.5 cheaper on the standard workload (47.5% 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; GPT-5.5 offers the larger 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 $20 for GPT-5.5 and $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Choose GPT-5.5 when you care most about larger context window.
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 $20 for GPT-5.5, saving $9.5 (47.5% lower).
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $9.5 cheaper on the standard workload (47.5% lower).
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $15 cheaper per 1M output tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
- GPT-5.5 has 50K more context (1.05x larger).
| Feature | GPT-5.5 (OpenAI) | Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $5 | $3 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $30 | $15 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $20 | $10.5 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 1M |
| Release Date |
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 $20 for GPT-5.5, saving $9.5 (47.5% 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 | GPT-5.5 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
- gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.
- 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.
- No popular competitor is currently available.
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
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