Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Claude Haiku 4.5
Anthropic's mid-tier against its budget option. Haiku is 67% cheaper on both input and output — but Sonnet has 5× more context and significantly better performance on complex tasks. See which fits your workload.
Pricing data verified: 2026-06-20
| Specification | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Claude Haiku 4.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price (per 1M tokens) | $3.00 | $1.00 |
| Output Price (per 1M tokens) | $15.00 | $5.00 |
| Context Window | 1M | 200K |
| Tier | Mid | Budget |
| Provider | Anthropic | Anthropic |
Calculate Your Exact Costs
See how the costs stack up for your specific usage pattern.
Other Models to Consider
Which Model for Which Use Case?
Cost-Sensitive High Volume
Haiku 4.5's $1.00/M input and $5.00/M output make it 67% cheaper for high-volume tasks. At 1M requests/day, you'd save $600/mo vs Sonnet.
Complex Reasoning
Sonnet 4.6 excels at complex reasoning, nuanced analysis, and multi-step problem solving. If your tasks require deep understanding, Sonnet's training gives it a significant edge.
Long Context Tasks
Sonnet 4.6's 1M context window is 5× larger than Haiku's 200K. For long documents, extensive codebases, or multi-turn conversations, Sonnet handles far more context.
Simple Classification & Extraction
For straightforward tasks like classification, extraction, and simple generation, Haiku 4.5 delivers solid quality at 67% lower cost. No need to pay for Sonnet's extra capabilities.
Comparing Claude Models?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Claude Haiku 4.5 cheaper than Sonnet 4.6?
Yes. Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $1.00/M input and $5.00/M output — 67% cheaper on both input and output than Claude Sonnet 4.6's $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output.
When would I choose Sonnet 4.6 over Haiku 4.5?
Choose Sonnet 4.6 for complex reasoning, nuanced analysis, longer-form content generation, and tasks requiring deeper understanding. Sonnet has 5× more context (1M vs 200K) and significantly better performance on complex benchmarks.
What's the context window difference?
Sonnet 4.6 has a 1M token context window — 5× larger than Haiku 4.5's 200K. For long documents, extensive codebases, or multi-turn conversations, Sonnet handles far more context.
Is Haiku 4.5 good enough for production?
For many tasks like classification, extraction, summarization, and simple generation, Haiku 4.5 delivers solid quality at 67% lower cost. For complex reasoning or tasks requiring deeper understanding, Sonnet 4.6 may be worth the premium.