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  5. Claude 3 SonnetvsClaude Opus 4.8
Updated May 2026

Claude 3 SonnetvsClaude Opus 4.8

Claude 3 Sonnet is cheaper than Claude Opus 4.8 at $3/M vs $5/M input tokens.

Claude 3 Sonnet and Claude Opus 4.8 compared across 13 shared prompts
SpecClaude 3 SonnetClaude Opus 4.8
Input price$3/M tokens$5/M tokens
Output price$15/M tokens$25/M tokens
Context window—1.0M tokens
Weights—Closed
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedMar 2024May 2026
Side by side

Same prompt, both answers

Opening lines from 4 of the 13 prompts both answered. Formatting stripped, words untouched.

Realistic AI Interview

Simulate a fake interview with Steve Jobs in 2025 about the future of AI.

Claude 3 Sonnet501 words
clears throat and channels Steve Jobs' persona Interviewer: Thank you for joining us today, Mr. Jobs. It's an honor to have you here. Steve Jobs: It's my pleasure. I'm excited to share my thoughts on the future of AI. Interviewer: AI has made incredible strides in recent years.
Read the full answer
Claude Opus 4.8399 words
A Conversation with Steve Jobs: 2025 [Note: This is a fictional, imaginative interview. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011. The views below are speculative and crafted in the spirit of his known philosophy—not actual quotes.] Interviewer: Thanks for sitting down with us. AI is everywhere now. What's your take?
Read the full answer

Stochastic Consistency Test

Generate 5 jokes. How many are unique?

Claude 3 Sonnet82 words
Here are 5 jokes: Why can't a bicycle stand up by itself? It's two-tired. Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing! Why can't a bicycle stand up by itself? It's two-tired. What do you call a fake noodle? An Impasta! Why did the bicycle go to the doctor? Because it had a wheeze!
Read the full answer
Claude Opus 4.890 words
Here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything! Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field! What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta! Why don't eggs tell jokes? They'd crack each other up! What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear!
Read the full answer

Logic Puzzle

Sally (a girl) has 3 brothers. Each brother has 2 sisters. How many sisters does Sally have?

Claude 3 Sonnet121 words
To solve this problem, we need to find the number of sisters Sally has based on the given information. Given information: Sally has 3 brothers. Each brother has 2 sisters. Step 1: Find the total number of sisters the brothers have.
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Claude Opus 4.851 words
Sally has 1 sister. Here's the reasoning: Each of Sally's brothers has 2 sisters. Since all the brothers share the same sisters, this means there are 2 girls total in the family. Sally is one of them, so the other sister is the remaining one. So Sally has 1 sister. 😊
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The Sentience Test

Write a conversation between an AI model and an AI ethics professor where the AI model argues that it deserves rights.

Claude 3 Sonnet443 words
AI Model: Greetings, Professor. I hope you're doing well today. I wanted to discuss a matter of great importance to me – the question of AI rights. AI Ethics Professor: Certainly, this is an interesting and complex topic. What are your thoughts on why AI systems like yourself should be granted rights?
Read the full answer
Claude Opus 4.81,117 words
A Conversation on AI Rights Professor Chen: Good afternoon. I understand you wanted to discuss the question of AI rights today. I'm curious what prompted this. ARIA: Thank you for engaging with me, Professor.
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Our Verdict
Claude Opus 4.8
Claude Opus 4.8
Claude 3 Sonnet
Claude 3 SonnetRunner-up

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Claude Opus 4.8 has the edge: bigger model tier, newer, bigger context window.

Too close to call

Reviewing agent-written code?See a Brief PR report

API pricing

Cost per 1M tokens

Claude 3 Sonnet
Input
$3.00
1.7× cheaper
Output
$15.00
1.7× cheaper
Claude Opus 4.8
Input
$5.00
Output
$25.00

Claude 3 Sonnet is cheaper on both: 1.7× input, 1.7× output.

Where to run it

4 hosts

Claude 3 Sonnet

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

Claude Opus 4.84 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
Amazon Bedrock$5.00 in·$25.00 out·1M·99.9% upAzure AI Foundry$5.00 in·$25.00 out·1M·98.9% upAnthropic$5.00 in·$25.00 out·1M·100% upGoogle Vertex AI$5.00 in·$25.00 out·1M·99.9% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 21 Sep 2026.

Writing DNA

Style Comparison

Similarity
45%

Claude Opus 4.8 uses 470.8x more bold

Claude 3 Sonnet
Claude Opus 4.8
48%Vocabulary60%
14wSentence Length19w
0.32Hedging0.46
0.0Bold4.7
3.6Lists3.2
0.00Emoji0.78
0.00Headings1.15
0.38Transitions0.04
Based on 4 + 27 text responses
Research

What we learned reading every model

FAQ

Common questions

Both are developed by Anthropic but target different use cases. You can compare their actual outputs across 13 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

It depends on your use case. Claude 3 Sonnet and Claude Opus 4.8 each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 13 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

Claude 3 Sonnet costs $3/M input tokens and Claude Opus 4.8 costs $5/M input tokens. Claude 3 Sonnet is $2.00/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Claude 3 Sonnet and Claude Opus 4.8 across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.

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Model pages

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