Compare Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6: Lightweight Utility vs Coding Precision
Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6: which should I use?
Claude Haiku 4.5 provides high-throughput classification and rapid answers ($1.00/$5.00 per million tokens), while Claude Sonnet 4.6 delivers deep coding precision and agentic tool reliability ($3.00/$15.00 per million tokens). Verified 2026-09-07.
Verified 2026-09-07
Where can you find price, speed, and task evidence for Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Which tasks fit Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Best-fit task signals from the published model strengths; this is not a substitute for a controlled benchmark.
| Fact | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Lightweight, high-volume operations like chat, tagging, and moderation. | Enterprise workloads that need Opus-adjacent quality at Sonnet pricing. |
| Reasoning mode | Unavailable | Available |
What does a Coding Agent workload cost with Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Modeled for Coding Agent: 20,000 input + 2,000 output tokens per task, 1 turn. This is a workload model, not a provider quote.
| Fact | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Coding Agent / task | $0.03 (modeled) (winner) | $0.09 (modeled) |
| Input / output rate | $1.00 / $5.00 per M | $3.00 / $15.00 per M |
How fast are Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Only non-estimated benchmark results are shown as measured.
| Fact | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Measured throughput | 148 tokens/s (winner) | 76 tokens/s |
| Time to first token | 260 ms | 360 ms |
How compatible are Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6 with APIs?
Provider-level wire-format and SDK facts; model-specific parameter differences may still apply.
| Fact | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI SDK | Not drop-in | Not drop-in |
| Request shape | Messages API — system prompt is a top-level field, not a message role, and max_tokens is required on every call. | Messages API — system prompt is a top-level field, not a message role, and max_tokens is required on every call. |
| Streaming | SSE (Anthropic content-block events) | SSE (Anthropic content-block events) |
What are the privacy and retention policies for Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Provider policy and residency facts from the verified provider registry. A missing retention policy is not treated as a guarantee.
| Fact | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider says API data trains models | No | No |
| Published retention period | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Data residency | Unavailable | Unavailable |
How much effort does it take to migrate between Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Direction is from each displayed model to the other. Effort is derived from provider compatibility and published parameter maps.
| Fact | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Move Claude Haiku 4.5 → Claude Sonnet 4.6 | drop-in; 0 breaking parameter differences | Target: Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
| Move Claude Sonnet 4.6 → Claude Haiku 4.5 | Source: Claude Sonnet 4.6 | drop-in; 0 breaking parameter differences |
| Why | Same provider; only the model identifier changes. | Same provider; only the model identifier changes. |
Exact-pair decision and evidence guide. Verified 2026-09-01. These three sections are computed from dated scenarios; assumptions and unavailable joins are not observations.
Exact pair boundary: requested models are claude-haiku-4-5 and claude-sonnet-4-6. A broad provider, pricing, task, or rate-limit verdict is out of scope.
Haiku/Sonnet hard-requirement admission gate
Frozen fixture board. Formula / decision rule: qualifies = every required context/output/modality/control is documented for exact model; unknown => Unknown Boundary: This is an exact-pair admission gate, not a broad cheapest-Claude or task recommendation.
| Frozen fixture | Joined fields and evidence | Output | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| classification | required=text; input=8K; output=1K; reasoning=not required; schema=JSON; Haiku=Unresolved; Sonnet=Unresolved | minimal tier=Unavailable until schema/cap evidence joins | UNKNOWN — exact support join |
| support chat | required=text; input=4K; output=1K; latency=SLO; tools=none; evidence=local required | tier selection=Unavailable without paired SLO and quality evidence | UNAVAILABLE — paired SLO |
| 180K extraction | required=text+strict schema; input=180K; output=4K; context=exact | Haiku/Sonnet eligibility=Unavailable until ceilings join | UNAVAILABLE — context join |
| 600K repository | required=text+tools+schema; input=600K; output=8K; tools=repository | Haiku may be ineligible, but exact ceiling/tool proof is required | UNKNOWN — exact envelope |
| extended-reasoning plan | required=thinking; budget=declared; output=4K; evidence=exact control | minimal qualifying tier=Unavailable until thinking support joins | UNAVAILABLE — reasoning control |
| computer-use | required=computer-use modality+action tool; side_effects=contained; support=Unknown | do not infer either tier’s support | UNKNOWN — modality/control |
Provenance: claude-haiku-4-5-vs-claude-sonnet-4-6, first-party evidence, surface verification date 2026-09-01. Anthropic Claude model documentation. Missing joins fail closed.
High-volume cascade receipt
Frozen fixture board. Formula / decision rule: expected cost/latency = base Haiku path + trigger rate × Sonnet path; missing trigger rate => Unavailable Boundary: Rate and latency values are exact-owner inputs; scenario trigger rates are not observed reliability.
| Frozen fixture | Joined fields and evidence | Output | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haiku-only | route=Haiku; tokens=declared; input/output rates=dated pricing owner; latency=local measurement required | baseline cost=rate × tokens; exact value=owner join | BASELINE — Haiku-only |
| Sonnet-only | route=Sonnet; tokens=declared; rates=dated pricing owner; latency=local measurement required | baseline cost=rate × tokens; exact value=owner join | BASELINE — Sonnet-only |
| Haiku-then-Sonnet | route=Haiku→Sonnet; trigger_rate=assumption; attempt_cap=2; token carry-forward=declared | expected pair cost/latency=Unavailable until trigger rate observed | ASSUMPTION ONLY — measure trigger |
| confidence-triggered escalation | signal=confidence threshold; threshold=user input; trigger_rate=missing; schema=valid | selected route=Unavailable without trigger distribution | UNAVAILABLE — trigger-rate missing |
| schema-failure escalation | signal=invalid JSON; repair=one attempt; Sonnet fallback=declared; failure rate=missing | attempt cap=2; expected cost=Unavailable | CONTAINED — one fallback |
| missing-trigger-rate | signal=confidence/schema; rate=missing; latency=missing; provider=Anthropic exact | do not estimate cascade economics | FAIL CLOSED — no trigger evidence |
Provenance: claude-haiku-4-5-vs-claude-sonnet-4-6, first-party evidence, surface verification date 2026-09-01. Anthropic pricing. Missing joins fail closed.
Escalation coverage and failure-containment board
Frozen fixture board. Formula / decision rule: terminal action = detect signal → bounded retry if capable → Sonnet or human gate; no endless same-prompt loop Boundary: A Sonnet capability delta must be exact and observed; escalation is not a substitute for human review.
| Frozen fixture | Joined fields and evidence | Output | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| low-confidence label | signal=confidence<floor; Haiku retry=may help only with changed prompt; Sonnet delta=Unresolved; review=required | one changed retry, then Sonnet or human review | CONTAINED — bounded retry |
| invalid JSON | signal=schema validation; Haiku retry=one repair; Sonnet schema support=Unresolved; max_attempts=2 | repair once; escalate or human-review; no loop | CONTAINED — schema failure |
| context overflow | signal=provider error; Haiku retry=same prompt cannot help; Sonnet context=exact join required | chunk, route only if documented, otherwise human/queue | TERMINAL — do not repeat same prompt |
| unsupported control | signal=parameter rejection; Haiku retry=same control cannot help; Sonnet support=Unknown | remove only with explicit client policy; otherwise block | BLOCKED — control mismatch |
| tool error | signal=tool schema/transport error; Haiku retry=bounded; Sonnet capability delta=Unresolved; side_effects=contained | retry once if idempotent, then human/operator gate | CONTAINED — idempotency required |
| repeated semantic failure | signal=two failed outputs; same prompt retry=forbidden; max_attempts=2; human=required | stop model loop and send to human review | TERMINAL — loop stopped |
Provenance: claude-haiku-4-5-vs-claude-sonnet-4-6, first-party evidence, surface verification date 2026-09-01. Anthropic Claude model documentation. Missing joins fail closed.
Method and limitations: calculations use only the displayed deterministic rule and visibly labeled assumptions. Missing provider, host, alias, version, effort, tool, modality, benchmark, workload, rate-period, or date joins fail closed. Run this scenario →
Exact-pair decision guide · verified 2026-09-07
Exact pair boundary: Anthropic; same provider, tier escalation, fast classification vs capable coding, and token pricing must join. Requested models are claude-haiku-4-5 and claude-sonnet-4-6. Provider, rate, pricing, and task pages remain fact owners.
Token pricing and 3x enterprise tariff expenditure board
Frozen scenario board. Formula / deterministic rule: monthly_spend = calls * ((in_tokens * rate_in + out_tokens * rate_out) / 1M) Boundary: Owns base token tariff comparisons and workload expenditure modeling.
| Frozen scenario | Pair, identity, host, surface, and evidence fields | Result | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25K customer inquiry classifications | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=25K customer inquiry classifications; workload; prompt tokens; completion tokens; Haiku 4.5 spend; Sonnet 4.6 spend; budget delta; cost winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — 25K customer inquiry classifications is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| 100K structured data extraction tasks | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=100K structured data extraction tasks; workload; prompt tokens; completion tokens; Haiku 4.5 spend; Sonnet 4.6 spend; budget delta; cost winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — 100K structured data extraction tasks is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| 250K automated customer replies | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=250K automated customer replies; workload; prompt tokens; completion tokens; Haiku 4.5 spend; Sonnet 4.6 spend; budget delta; cost winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — 250K automated customer replies is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| prompt caching active (Haiku $0.10/M / Sonnet $0.30/M read) | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=prompt caching active (Haiku $0.10/M / Sonnet $0.30/M read); workload; prompt tokens; completion tokens; Haiku 4.5 spend; Sonnet 4.6 spend; budget delta; cost winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — prompt caching active (Haiku $0.10/M / Sonnet $0.30/M read) is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| batch processing active (50% both) | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=batch processing active (50% both); workload; prompt tokens; completion tokens; Haiku 4.5 spend; Sonnet 4.6 spend; budget delta; cost winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — batch processing active (50% both) is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| unresolved pricing currency | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=unresolved pricing currency; workload; prompt tokens; completion tokens; Haiku 4.5 spend; Sonnet 4.6 spend; budget delta; cost winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — unresolved pricing currency has no matched, dated bilateral observation. | FAIL CLOSED — manual, probe, or source evidence required |
First-party provenance: Anthropic API pricing; verification date 2026-09-07. Missing or conflicting joins fail closed.
Two-tier escalation architecture and routing cost savings
Frozen scenario board. Formula / deterministic rule: blended_cost = haiku_volume * haiku_cost + sonnet_volume * sonnet_cost Boundary: Owns two-tier architectural routing between fast triage and deep reasoning.
| Frozen scenario | Pair, identity, host, surface, and evidence fields | Result | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% Haiku 4.5 baseline | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=100% Haiku 4.5 baseline; escalation mix; total monthly queries; blended spend; cost savings vs pure Sonnet; accuracy retention; routing recommendation; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — 100% Haiku 4.5 baseline is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| 90% Haiku triage / 10% Sonnet escalation | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=90% Haiku triage / 10% Sonnet escalation; escalation mix; total monthly queries; blended spend; cost savings vs pure Sonnet; accuracy retention; routing recommendation; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — 90% Haiku triage / 10% Sonnet escalation is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| 75% Haiku triage / 25% Sonnet escalation | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=75% Haiku triage / 25% Sonnet escalation; escalation mix; total monthly queries; blended spend; cost savings vs pure Sonnet; accuracy retention; routing recommendation; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — 75% Haiku triage / 25% Sonnet escalation is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| 50% Haiku triage / 50% Sonnet escalation | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=50% Haiku triage / 50% Sonnet escalation; escalation mix; total monthly queries; blended spend; cost savings vs pure Sonnet; accuracy retention; routing recommendation; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — 50% Haiku triage / 50% Sonnet escalation is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| 100% Sonnet 4.6 direct execution | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=100% Sonnet 4.6 direct execution; escalation mix; total monthly queries; blended spend; cost savings vs pure Sonnet; accuracy retention; routing recommendation; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — 100% Sonnet 4.6 direct execution is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| unresolved confidence threshold trigger | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=unresolved confidence threshold trigger; escalation mix; total monthly queries; blended spend; cost savings vs pure Sonnet; accuracy retention; routing recommendation; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — unresolved confidence threshold trigger has no matched, dated bilateral observation. | FAIL CLOSED — manual, probe, or source evidence required |
First-party provenance: Anthropic Claude documentation; verification date 2026-09-07. Missing or conflicting joins fail closed.
Interactive latency SLA and response turnaround audit
Frozen scenario board. Formula / deterministic rule: turnaround = ttft + (tokens_out / tps); Haiku low-latency vs Sonnet deep generation Boundary: Owns turnaround time benchmarks and user experience responsiveness.
| Frozen scenario | Pair, identity, host, surface, and evidence fields | Result | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| real-time chat autocomplete (<200ms) | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=real-time chat autocomplete (<200ms); task; response SLA; Haiku 4.5 latency; Sonnet 4.6 latency; SLA compliance; responsiveness winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — real-time chat autocomplete (<200ms) is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| support agent intent routing (<400ms) | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=support agent intent routing (<400ms); task; response SLA; Haiku 4.5 latency; Sonnet 4.6 latency; SLA compliance; responsiveness winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — support agent intent routing (<400ms) is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| complex code refactoring (multi-second OK) | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=complex code refactoring (multi-second OK); task; response SLA; Haiku 4.5 latency; Sonnet 4.6 latency; SLA compliance; responsiveness winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — complex code refactoring (multi-second OK) is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| dense document summarization | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=dense document summarization; task; response SLA; Haiku 4.5 latency; Sonnet 4.6 latency; SLA compliance; responsiveness winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — dense document summarization is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| network contention latency buffer | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=network contention latency buffer; task; response SLA; Haiku 4.5 latency; Sonnet 4.6 latency; SLA compliance; responsiveness winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — network contention latency buffer is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
| unmeasured speed fixture | pair=claude-haiku-4-5 vs claude-sonnet-4-6; provider=Anthropic; hostA=api.anthropic.com; hostB=api.anthropic.com; surfaceA=Anthropic Messages API; surfaceB=Anthropic Messages API; requested/effective IDs=claude-haiku-4-5,claude-sonnet-4-6; scenario=unmeasured speed fixture; task; response SLA; Haiku 4.5 latency; Sonnet 4.6 latency; SLA compliance; responsiveness winner; prompt/config/input/output/result/cache/checkpoint/artifact hashes=required; evidence=2026-09-07; measurement versus assumption=explicit | Unavailable — unmeasured speed fixture is a frozen fixture pending exact identity, configuration, and denominator joins. | UNTESTED — assumption cannot establish a verdict |
First-party provenance: All AI Ask measured speed dataset; verification date 2026-09-07. Missing or conflicting joins fail closed.
Method and limitations: formulas are deterministic; observed and assumed inputs are labeled; no missing provider, host, account, region, realm, alias, snapshot, revision, weight, artifact, control, tool, modality, workload, rate-period, timestamp, or result is transferred. Run this scenario →
How do Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6 compare on specs?
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (input) | $1.00/M ✓ | $3.00/M |
| Price (output) | $5.00/M ✓ | $15.00/M |
| Blended price | $2.00/M ✓ | $6.00/M |
| Context window | 200,000 tokens | 300,000 tokens ✓ |
| Max output | 32,000 tokens | 64,000 tokens ✓ |
| Modalities | text, vision | text, vision |
| Reasoning mode | No | Yes |
| Released | 2025-11 | 2026-03 |
| Speed | 148 t/s ✓ | 76 t/s |
How much do Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6 cost at scale?
| Tokens / month | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000,000 | $2.00 | $6.00 | $4.00 (3.0×) |
| 10,000,000 | $20.00 | $60.00 | $40.00 (3.0×) |
| 100,000,000 | $200.00 | $600.00 | $400.00 (3.0×) |
Choose Claude Haiku 4.5 if…
- ✓Fastest Claude model
- ✓Lowest Claude pricing
- ✓Vision input included
- ✓Lightweight, high-volume operations like chat, tagging, and moderation.
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 if…
- ✓Best intelligence-per-dollar in the Claude lineup
- ✓Fast enough for interactive coding agents
- ✓Reliable structured output
- ✓Enterprise workloads that need Opus-adjacent quality at Sonnet pricing.
Run this exact matchup right now
Send the same prompt to Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6 side by side and see the outputs yourself.
Try Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 FreeWhat are common questions about Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Is Claude Haiku 4.5 cheaper than Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Claude Haiku 4.5 is cheaper, at $2.00 per million blended tokens vs $6.00 for Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Which has the bigger context window, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the larger context window: 300,000 tokens vs 200,000.
Can Claude Haiku 4.5 replace Claude Sonnet 4.6 for coding?
Both are viable for coding. Fastest Claude model (Claude Haiku 4.5) vs Best intelligence-per-dollar in the Claude lineup (Claude Sonnet 4.6) — pick based on which strength matters more for your workload.
Which is faster, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Claude Haiku 4.5 is faster: 148 t/s vs 76 t/s, measured on our speed benchmarks.
Neither of these? See Claude Sonnet 4.6 alternatives.
What related comparisons help choose between Claude Haiku 4.5 and Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Claude Haiku 4.5 pricingClaude Sonnet 4.6 pricingvs DeepSeek V4 Provs Gemini 3.1 Provs Grok 4.3vs Claude Sonnet 4.5Premium model tests
Pricing verified 2026-04-06. Specs verified 2026-08-14.