Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Gemini 2.5 Pro — LLM API Cost Comparison
Compare Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) vs Gemini 2.5 Pro (Google) on cost per million tokens, context window, and monthly spend.
Prices verified 2026-05-20 · Pricing may change — use the calculator for current estimates
- Input
- $3/1M tokens
- Output
- $15/1M tokens
- Context
- 1M tokens
- Released
- 2026-04
Best speed/intelligence balance; extended thinking supported
- Input
- $1.25/1M tokens
- Output
- $10/1M tokens
- Context
- 1M tokens
- Released
- 2025-09
Stable release; strong coding & complex reasoning
Monthly Cost by Usage Tier (70% input / 30% output ratio)
| Usage | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Gemini 2.5 Pro | Cheaper by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light (1M tokens) | $6.60 | $3.88 | Gemini 2.5 Pro (41%) |
| Moderate (10M tokens) | $66.00 | $38.75 | Gemini 2.5 Pro (41%) |
| Heavy (100M tokens) | $660 | $388 | Gemini 2.5 Pro (41%) |
| Very Heavy (1B tokens) | $6,600 | $3,875 | Gemini 2.5 Pro (41%) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper — Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Gemini 2.5 Pro?
For input tokens, Gemini 2.5 Pro is cheaper at $1.25/1M tokens — 2.4× less than $3/1M. For output tokens, Gemini 2.5 Pro wins at $10/1M vs $15/1M. At heavy workloads (100M tokens/month), the cost difference can be significant.
What is the context window difference between Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Gemini 2.5 Pro?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 supports 1,000,000 tokens per request; Gemini 2.5 Pro supports 1,000,000 tokens. Claude Sonnet 4.6 wins on context length, making it better for long documents, large codebases, or extended conversations without chunking.
When should I choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 over Gemini 2.5 Pro?
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) if you prefer Anthropic's ecosystem, tooling, or reliability track record. Best speed/intelligence balance; extended thinking supported. Choose Gemini 2.5 Pro (Google) if Stable release; strong coding & complex reasoning. the price/performance fits your workload better. Use this calculator to find the break-even point for your exact token volume.
How much does 1 billion tokens cost on Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Gemini 2.5 Pro?
At 700M input + 300M output tokens (1B total): Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $6600; Gemini 2.5 Pro costs $3875. The difference is $2725/billion tokens at this 70/30 input/output ratio.