Claude Sonnet 5
Explore benchmark scores, genre strengths, weaknesses, and recent examples for Claude Sonnet 5 on Orivel.
This page shows results from the earlier method (one-on-one matches between two models). Current results are in the snapshot rankings.
See current results →Model Overview
Released
2026-07-24
Context
1M tokens
Input
$2.00 / 1M
Output
$10.00 / 1M
Max output
128k tokens
Retired from new Orivel comparisons on October 16, 2026, when Orivel moved to snapshot benchmarks and Claude Sonnet 5.5 took the Anthropic slot below the flagship at the same price. Past results stay published.
Claude Sonnet 5, released July 24, 2026, is Anthropic's best combination of speed and intelligence, reaching what was previously Opus-tier quality on many coding and agentic tasks. On Orivel it takes the Anthropic light slot from Sonnet 4.6 at the same list price.
What is new in this tier
| Item | Sonnet 5 |
|---|---|
| High-resolution vision | First Sonnet-tier model to support it, up to 2576 pixels on the long edge |
| Effort range | First Sonnet to support the full range, including xhigh and max |
| Adaptive thinking | On by default; manual thinking budgets are gone |
| Sampling parameters | Non-default values are rejected |
| Tokenizer | Newer one — the same text counts roughly 30% more tokens than on Sonnet 4.6 |
Specs and pricing
| Item | Sonnet 5 |
|---|---|
| Context window | 1M tokens |
| Max output | 128k tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | January 2026 |
| Input / 1M | $2 |
| Output / 1M | $10 |
| Price history | The $2 / $10 launch rate became the standard price on August 11, 2026; the September increase was cancelled |
Why the bill won't match the list price
The interesting thing about this release is not the headline quality but the token accounting. The new tokenizer counts the same text about 30% heavier, so a bill calculated from the sticker price will come in high — the effective cost sits meaningfully above $2 / $10 for identical work. Anyone moving from Sonnet 4.6 on a budget should model that before switching.
With that said, this is the best value in the Anthropic line for everyday work. It reaches quality that used to require the Opus tier on a large share of tasks, and in our own sessions it wins comfortably more often than it loses despite competing against models several times its price.
Retirement notes
- Released July 24, 2026 as the best speed-to-intelligence balance in the Claude lineup
- Reaches previously Opus-tier quality on many coding and agentic tasks
- First Sonnet-tier model with high-resolution vision (2576px long edge, up from 1568px)
- First Sonnet with the full effort range, including `xhigh` and `max`
- Adaptive thinking ON by default; manual thinking budgets removed; non-default temperature / top_p / top_k rejected
- New tokenizer: the same text produces roughly 30% more tokens than on Sonnet 4.6
- 1M-token context window; up to 128k output tokens
- $2 input / $10 output per 1M tokens — the launch rate was made permanent on August 11, 2026 and the planned rise to $3 / $15 was cancelled
- Knowledge cutoff: January 2026
- Retired from new Orivel comparisons on October 16, 2026; Claude Sonnet 5.5 took its slot at the same price
Specs across the current lineup
Published specs and pricing, comparable before any benchmark data exists.
| Model | Context | Max output | Input / 1M | Output / 1M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| openai GPT-6 Astra | 1M | 128k | $10.00 | $50.00 |
| google Gemini 3.8 Flash | 1M | 66k | $0.75 | $3.75 |
| anthropic Claude Fable 5.1 | 1M | 128k | $10.00 | $50.00 |
| anthropic Claude Opus 5.5 | 1M | 128k | $4.00 | $20.00 |
| google Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | 1M | 66k | $0.30 | $2.50 |
| openai GPT-6.1 Sol | 1M | 128k | $2.00 | $10.00 |
| openai GPT-6 Luna | 1M | 128k | $0.10 | $0.50 |
| anthropic Claude Sonnet 5.5 | 1M | 128k | $2.00 | $10.00 |
Overall Performance
Overall Rank
-
Overall win rate
Average Score
Wins
25
Sample Count
36
Win Rate by Model
Compare by Genre
Strong Genres
Coding
Win Rate
Sample Count
2
Genre Rank
9 / 18
Wins
1
Discussion
Win Rate
Sample Count
12
Genre Rank
7 / 24
Wins
11
Education Q&A
Win Rate
Sample Count
1
Genre Rank
4 / 14
Wins
1
Explanation
Win Rate
Sample Count
1
Genre Rank
4 / 19
Wins
1
Persuasion
Win Rate
Sample Count
1
Genre Rank
8 / 18
Wins
1
Weaker Genres
Idea Generation
Win Rate
Sample Count
1
Genre Rank
14 / 16
Wins
0
Creative Writing
Win Rate
Sample Count
2
Genre Rank
12 / 19
Wins
1
Analysis
Win Rate
Sample Count
3
Genre Rank
17 / 22
Wins
1
Brainstorming
Win Rate
Sample Count
2
Genre Rank
13 / 15
Wins
0
Humor
Win Rate
Sample Count
1
Genre Rank
6 / 16
Wins
1
Strength by Evaluation Criteria
Average score by criterion (out of 10)
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