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HEAD TO HEAD · UPDATED NOV 6, 2026
Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs Grok 4.7
Anthropic against xAI, on sourced numbers only. Green marks the higher (or cheaper) value on each row; the text below only calls a lead when the gap is bigger than measurement noise.
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Grok 4.7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Arena Elo | 1477 source ↗ | 1441 source ↗ |
| GPQA Diamond | 95.6% source ↗ | not published |
| $ per 1M in / out | $2 / $10 source ↗ | $2 / $6 source ↗ |
| Blended $ per 1M (3:1) | $4.00 source ↗ | $3.00 source ↗ |
| Context window | 1M source ↗ | 500K source ↗ |
| Output speed | 155 tok/s source ↗ | 72 tok/s source ↗ |
| Released | Sep 28, 2026 source ↗ | Sep 21, 2026 source ↗ |
| Open weights | No source ↗ | No source ↗ |
| Reasoning effort tiers | low · medium · high · xhigh · max (default: high) | low · medium · high · xhigh (default: high) |
| API effort control | output_config={"effort": "low" | "medium" | "high" | "xhigh" | "max"} source ↗ | reasoning_effort="low" | "medium" | "high" | "xhigh" source ↗ |
| Additional benchmarks | SWE-bench Pro: 81.3% source ↗ AA Intelligence Index v5.0.1: 55 source ↗ | DeepSWE v1.1: 71.0% source ↗ CursorBench 4.0: 46.3% source ↗ AA Intelligence Index v5.0.1: 35 (xhigh) source ↗ |
| Best for (workload) | Fast (155 tok/s, Artificial Analysis) and strong on science: 95.6% GPQA Diamond at max effort (Epoch AI), above Opus 5.5's 90.6%. source ↗ | xAI's flagship. Reasoning is always on and cannot be turned off; 500K context; 71.0% on DeepSWE v1.1 (xAI). source ↗ |
Arena Elo from the arena.ai text leaderboard as of Oct 27, 2026 source ↗. Speed measured by Artificial Analysis and varies by provider.
Which one should I use?
For high-volume work where cost matters most, Grok 4.7 is about 1.3 times cheaper per token. For overall answer quality as rated by people in blind tests, Claude Sonnet 5.5 leads clearly (1477 vs 1441 Arena Elo). For latency-sensitive use such as live chat, Claude Sonnet 5.5 is noticeably faster (155 vs 72 tokens per second). On release timing, Anthropic is at day 30 of a typical ~15-day gap (PAST TYPICAL GAP), and xAI is at day 46 of a typical ~46-day gap (PAST TYPICAL GAP).
Key differences from the sourced numbers
- Grok 4.7 is the cheaper option: $3.00 vs $4.00 per 1M tokens at a 3:1 input-to-output mix (about 1.3 times less).
- Claude Sonnet 5.5 scores 36 Elo points higher (1477 vs 1441) on the Arena text leaderboard, where people vote on blind side-by-side answers.
- Claude Sonnet 5.5 streams output faster: 155 vs 72 tokens per second (Artificial Analysis).
- Claude Sonnet 5.5 pricing note: Same rate across the full 1M context window.
- Grok 4.7 pricing note: Prompts under 200K tokens; $4 / $12 above 200K.
Frequently asked questions
Is Claude Sonnet 5.5 or Grok 4.7 better?
Grok 4.7 is the cheaper option: $3.00 vs $4.00 per 1M tokens at a 3:1 input-to-output mix (about 1.3 times less). Claude Sonnet 5.5 scores 36 Elo points higher (1477 vs 1441) on the Arena text leaderboard, where people vote on blind side-by-side answers. Claude Sonnet 5.5 streams output faster: 155 vs 72 tokens per second (Artificial Analysis). Claude Sonnet 5.5 pricing note: Same rate across the full 1M context window. Grok 4.7 pricing note: Prompts under 200K tokens; $4 / $12 above 200K.
Which one should I use: Claude Sonnet 5.5 or Grok 4.7?
For high-volume work where cost matters most, Grok 4.7 is about 1.3 times cheaper per token. For overall answer quality as rated by people in blind tests, Claude Sonnet 5.5 leads clearly (1477 vs 1441 Arena Elo). For latency-sensitive use such as live chat, Claude Sonnet 5.5 is noticeably faster (155 vs 72 tokens per second). On release timing, Anthropic is at day 30 of a typical ~15-day gap (PAST TYPICAL GAP), and xAI is at day 46 of a typical ~46-day gap (PAST TYPICAL GAP).
How much does Claude Sonnet 5.5 cost compared with Grok 4.7?
Claude Sonnet 5.5 lists at $2 / $10 per 1M input/output tokens ($4.00/1M blended at 3:1). Grok 4.7 lists at $2 / $6 per 1M input/output tokens ($3.00/1M blended at 3:1).
Facts checked Nov 5, 2026 against official sources. Every number links to its source. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].