Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs o4-mini
Detailed pricing comparison and cost analysis.
Updated September 2026
Cost Simulator
| Feature | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | o4-mini |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic | OpenAI |
| Input Price (1M) | $3.00 | $1.10 |
| Output Price (1M) | $15.00 | $4.40 |
| Context Window | 1,000,000 | 200,000 |
Verdict
Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.00 per 1M input tokens and $15.00 per 1M output tokens. o4-mini costs $1.10 per 1M input tokens and $4.40 per 1M output tokens. o4-mini is 63% cheaper on input tokens than Claude Sonnet 4.6. For output tokens, o4-mini is the more affordable option at $4.40/1M vs $15.00.
On context window, Claude Sonnet 4.6 supports 1,000,000 tokens — meaning it can fit more conversation history, documents, or code in a single request. This matters for RAG pipelines, long document analysis, and agentic workflows where context builds up over many turns.
When to choose Claude Sonnet 4.6
- ✓ You need a larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
- ✓ You are already integrated with Anthropic
When to choose o4-mini
- ✓ You need the lowest input token cost ($ 1.10/1M)
- ✓ Your workload is output-heavy — o4-mini generates text cheaper
- ✓ You are already integrated with OpenAI
Use the calculator above to simulate your specific workload and find the exact break-even point. For most applications, the cheapest model is the one that minimises your total monthly bill given your input-to-output token ratio.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 cheaper than o4-mini? ▼
o4-mini is cheaper on input tokens at $1.10/1M vs $3.00/1M for Claude Sonnet 4.6 — a 63% saving.
What is the context window of Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs o4-mini? ▼
Claude Sonnet 4.6 has a 1,000,000-token context window. o4-mini has a 200,000-token context window. Claude Sonnet 4.6 supports the larger context, suitable for longer documents and agentic workflows.
Which model is better: Claude Sonnet 4.6 or o4-mini? ▼
The best choice depends on your use case. For cost efficiency on input tokens, o4-mini is the cheaper option. For maximum context length, Claude Sonnet 4.6 supports 1,000,000 tokens. Use the comparison table above to find the right fit for your workload.