comparison
GPT-5.5 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6
Token pricing, context window and real monthly cost, side by side. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the cheaper of the two for a typical workload — about 1.9× less.
Positioned by published specs — size, context and modality — not measured performance; a smaller model can sometimes outperform a larger one on your task.
GPT-5.5 is one class larger (Flagship vs Mid). Lean to the cheaper Claude Sonnet 4.6 unless your task is demanding enough to need the larger class.
| metric | GPT-5.5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Input / 1M | $5.00 | $3.00 |
| Output / 1M | $30.00 | $15.00 |
| Context | 1.1M | 1M |
| Technical class | Flagship | Mid |
| Cost @ typical workload | $4,500/mo | $2,400/mo |
| Modality | text + image | text + image |
| Price source | list | list |
| Provider | OpenAI | Anthropic |
Snapshot . Cost uses a typical workload; tune it in the calculator. How we measure →
Which should you pick?
On a typical workload, Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $2,400/mo against GPT-5.5's $4,500/mo — roughly 1.9× cheaper. But the ranking depends on your output-to-input ratio: output is the pricier direction for both, so an output-heavy job (code generation, long answers) widens the gap while an input-heavy one (summarization, retrieval) narrows it. If you need to fit more in a single prompt, GPT-5.5 has the larger 1.1M-token window (~1,575 pages). By technical class (size and context, not measured capability), GPT-5.5 is a Flagship and Claude Sonnet 4.6 a Mid — so the lower price partly reflects a smaller class, not just a discount.
These are list and routed market prices, not measured outcomes. Two models at the same rate can still cost different amounts to finish the same task, because verbose or reasoning-heavy models emit more tokens. That gap is exactly what measured cost-per-task captures. The technical-class read above is likewise spec-based — size, context and modality, not measured performance — so a smaller model can still outperform a larger one on your specific task.
Frequently asked questions
Is GPT-5.5 or Claude Sonnet 4.6 cheaper?
For a typical workload (1,500 input + 500 output tokens × 200,000 requests/month), Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $2,400/mo versus $4,500/mo for GPT-5.5 — about 1.9× less. Because output is priced higher than input, the winner can flip if your workload writes much more or less than this; check your own numbers in the calculator.
What's the main difference between GPT-5.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6?
On price, GPT-5.5 is $5.00/$30.00 per 1M (in/out) and Claude Sonnet 4.6 is $3.00/$15.00. By technical class (size & context) it's Flagship (GPT-5.5) versus Mid (Claude Sonnet 4.6). GPT-5.5 has the larger context window at 1.1M tokens.
More comparisons
- GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.4
- GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.4 mini
- GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.4 nano
- GPT-5.5 vs gpt-oss-120b
- Claude Fable 5 vs GPT-5.5
- GPT-5.5 vs Claude Opus 4.8
Related
- GPT-5.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6 — full specs and price history.
- API cost calculator — compare on your own workload.
- All comparisons — the full head-to-head index.