token.app › Compare › Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Gemini 3.6 Flash
Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Gemini 3.6 Flash
Gemini 3.6 Flash leads on 5 of 5 shared benchmarks. Gemini 3.6 Flash is 2.0× cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 basis. Gemini 3.6 Flash accepts the larger context window (1.0M).
Head to head
Blended price uses a 3:1 input:output mix
| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Gemini 3.6 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic | |
| Input $/1M | $3.00 | $1.50 |
| Output $/1M | $15.00 | $7.50 |
| Blended $/1M | $6.00 | $3.00 |
| Context window | 1M | 1.0M |
| Max output | 64K | 66K |
| Released | Sep 2025 | Jul 2026 |
| Licence | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| GPQA Diamond | 82.3% | 94.1% |
| FrontierMath T1–3 | 23.9% | 58.9% |
| FrontierMath T4 | 2.4% | 22.0% |
| SimpleQA Verified | 23.6% | 68.7% |
| OTIS Mock AIME | 77.8% | 94.2% |
Benchmark scores independently run and published by Epoch AI, 'AI Benchmarking Hub', used under CC BY 4.0. Only benchmarks with a score for BOTH models are compared.
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.5 if…
- No clear advantage on the data we hold.
Choose Gemini 3.6 Flash if…
- Costs less per token — $3.00 vs $6.00 blended
- Higher GPQA Diamond (94.1% vs 82.3%)
- Higher FrontierMath T1–3 (58.9% vs 23.9%)
- Higher FrontierMath T4 (22.0% vs 2.4%)
- Higher SimpleQA Verified (68.7% vs 23.6%)
- Larger context window (1.0M)
- Newer model (released Jul 2026)
FAQ
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Gemini 3.6 Flash?
Across the 5 benchmarks both models have independently-run scores for, Claude Sonnet 4.5 leads on 0 and Gemini 3.6 Flash leads on 5. Benchmarks are one input — price and context window are on this page too.
Is Claude Sonnet 4.5 cheaper than Gemini 3.6 Flash?
Gemini 3.6 Flash is cheaper: $3.00 versus $6.00 per million tokens blended at 3:1 input:output. Input alone: $3.00 vs $1.50. Output alone: $15.00 vs $7.50.
What context windows do Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Gemini 3.6 Flash have?
Claude Sonnet 4.5: 1,000,000 tokens. Gemini 3.6 Flash: 1,048,576 tokens.
Who makes Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Gemini 3.6 Flash?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 is made by Anthropic. Gemini 3.6 Flash is made by Google.
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