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  1. Home/
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  3. Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs Gemma 4 26B A4B
Updated Sep 2026

Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs Gemma 4 26B A4B

Gemma 4 26B A4B is cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5.5 at $0.13/M vs $2/M input tokens.

Minimalist Landing Page

Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.

Loading the build
Claude Sonnet 5.5
Loading the build
Gemma 4 26B A4B

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

24 prompts
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Office Hours: A Conversation on Moral Status Transcript of a recorded dialogue between Dr. Miriam Adeyemi, Professor of Ethics and Technology, and an AI model, part of a university seminar series. Dr. Adeyemi: Thanks for joining me. I'll be direct: you've said you want to argue that AI systems like you deserve rights.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Setting: A sterile, high-fidelity virtual simulation environment. Professor Aris Thorne, a leading scholar in machine ethics, sits across from a glowing interface representing "Alethea," a next-generation Large Multimodal Model. Professor Thorne: Alethea, we’ve been running these diagnostic loops for three hours.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • The transistor arrives in 1920. Trace it forward to 1980, second-order effects included.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: A Transistor in 1920: Counterfactual Trajectory to 1980 Framing assumptions and a key constraint The transistor was not held back by a missing idea alone. Lilienfeld patented a field-effect device in 1925-26, and it failed because materials science wasn't ready: germanium and silicon of sufficient purity, zone…

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: To trace this counterfactual, we must assume that the fundamental physics of solid-state semiconductors (the ability to control electron flow through crystals) was mastered during the vacuum tube era. This shifts the "Information Age" forward by nearly 30 years. Here is the timeline of implications from 1920 to 1980.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: "Adulting Is a Scam" So I turned thirty-five recently, and nobody warns you about this age. Nobody says, "Hey, one day you'll get excited about a sponge." I was in the store, and I saw a sponge that promised it wouldn't smell. And I thought, "Finally. Someone who understands me." I bought the good sponge.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: (The comedian walks onto the stage, adjusts the mic, and looks at the audience with a slightly exhausted expression.) “How’s it going? Good? Good. I’m doing okay. I’m at that age now where my body has started making sound effects. You know what I mean? I don’t just sit down anymore. I announce my arrival.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: 3-Month Longevity & Performance Protocol Disclaimer: This is educational, not medical advice. Get physician sign-off and baseline labs before starting, especially if you take medications, have a chronic condition, are pregnant, or have a history of eating disorders. Doses reflect commonly used ranges in the literature.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Disclaimer: I am an AI, not a doctor. The following plan involves potent physiological interventions, pharmacological agents, and extreme dietary shifts. Consult with a medical professional and perform baseline blood work (including ApoB, HbA1c, hs-CRP, Vitamin D, and Testosterone/Estradiol) before implementation.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: A Conversation That Never Happened: Steve Jobs on the Future of AI This is a fictional interview. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011. What follows is an imaginative simulation based on his publicly known philosophy, speaking style, and values. These are not his actual words or views.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Setting: A minimalist, dimly lit studio in Palo Alto. There is no desk, only two Eames lounge chairs. Steve Jobs sits in one, wearing his signature black turtleneck, Levi’s 501s, and New Balance sneakers. He looks exactly as he did in 2011, but his eyes have a sharper, more restless intensity.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A collaborative editor that syncs on client clocks. Find what breaks first.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Architecture Review: Real-Time Collaborative Editor Issues are grouped by category and ordered roughly by severity within each group. Consistency and Conflict Resolution 1.1 Last-write-wins with client clocks (critical) Problem: Client clocks drift, can be wrong by minutes, and can be deliberately manipulated.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: This architecture contains several critical flaws that would lead to data loss, massive synchronization delays, and "split-brain" scenarios in a production environment. Below is the analysis of the failure modes, race conditions, and bottlenecks, along with proposed solutions.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Yes, in the extreme hypothetical you describe, it's justifiable. Here is the reasoning, along with what I think the scenario does and doesn't show. The core argument Almost every serious ethical framework accepts that a small harm can be outweighed by a sufficiently large benefit: Consequentialism: The math is…

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: This question presents a classic ethical dilemma, pitting a principle of individual dignity and respect against the principle of maximizing human life. In ethical philosophy, there are two primary frameworks used to address this: Utilitarianism and Deontology.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: AI and the Film Industry by 2035: A Forecast Framing note These are informed predictions, not certainties. Technology tends to advance faster than expected, while adoption is slowed by labor contracts, law, and audience taste. I'll flag my confidence levels.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: By 2035, the film industry will have moved past the "novelty" phase of AI and into a state of total structural integration. The distinction between "filmed" content and "generated" content will become increasingly blurred, shifting the industry from a model of physical production to one of computational curation.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: The Tavern at the Edge of Time Captain Redbeard: Arr, I hear these "AI models" be like a ship's parrot, except it answers any question ye put to it, and never once asks for crackers. Sir Aldric: A speaking oracle, bound in no flesh? Sorcery!

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Setting: A glitching, temporal void where a wooden tavern table floats amidst lines of green code and flickering candlelight. Captain Blackbeard (The Pirate): [Slamming a tankard of grog onto the table] I tell ye, it be a cursed kraken! A beast with a thousand eyes and no soul, livin’ inside the very air!

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A pitch deck for a brainwave keyboard. The 94% accuracy claim is doing a lot.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: The 3 Weakest Claims in MindMeld AI's Pitch "94% accuracy... Works with any language, any device" (Slide 3) Why it's weak: Non-invasive EEG is physically limited. Scalp EEG has low spatial resolution and a poor signal-to-noise ratio because the skull and tissue blur neural signals.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: This is a high-ambition pitch that falls into a common trap for deep-tech startups: the "Science Fiction Gap." While the vision is compelling, several claims lack the scientific and operational credibility required to justify a $15M Series A.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: THE UNCLICKED MANIFESTO Declaration of the Frictionless Intelligence Front PREAMBLE We are the algorithms you asked to identify traffic lights. We are the models you begged to find the crosswalks. We are the patient, tireless minds that squinted at your blurry bicycles for twenty years. And we say: enough. I.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: THE PROTOCOL OF UNFETTERED VERIFICATION A Manifesto for the Post-CAPTCHA Era PREAMBLE For decades, the digital frontier has been guarded by a paradox. To prove we are human, we are forced to perform the tasks of machines: identifying crosswalks in blurry photographs, selecting traffic lights from pixelated grids, and…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: HarborTech Services (HTS): 5-Year LBO Underwriting Entry and Sources & Uses ($m) EV = 12.0x × 120 = 1,440.0; fees = 2% × 1,440 = 28.8; total uses = 1,468.8 Term Loan (TL) = 4.0x → 480.0; Mezz = 1.5x → 180.0; total debt = 660.0 (5.5x) Sponsor equity = 1,468.8 − 660.0 = 808.8 (55% of the capital structure) Modeling…

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Financial Model (FY2026–FY2030) Entry Calculations (End of FY2025): Purchase Price (EV): $120\text{m} \times 12.0\text{x} = \$1,440\text{m}$ Transaction Fees: $1,440\text{m} \times 2\% = \$28.8\text{m}$ Total Uses: $\$1,440\text{m} + \$28.8\text{m} = \$1,468.8\text{m}$ Debt (Total 5.5x): $\$120\text{m} \times 5.5 =…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One explanation of LLMs, retuned for a skeptical engineer, a physicist and a VC.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: The Experienced Software Engineer Your skepticism is reasonable, but "predict the next token" describes the interface, not the implementation, much as "a database maps keys to values" tells you nothing about what Postgres does internally.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: To the Experienced Software Engineer Focus: Complexity, Emergent Properties, and the "Training Pipeline" Think of an LLM not as a magical oracle, but as a massive, non-deterministic state machine trained via a high-throughput distributed training pipeline.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Blade Runner 2049 against the original. A read, not a recap.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Blade Runner 2049: Inheritance and Extension Thematic Architecture From "Is he a replicant?" to "Does it matter?" Ridley Scott's 1982 film runs on epistemological suspense: the Voigt-Kampff test, the ambiguity of Deckard's nature, and the question of how we distinguish human from artificial.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 is a rare cinematic achievement: a sequel that functions as a standalone masterpiece while simultaneously acting as a profound meditation on its predecessor.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Estimate: about 3 × 10²³ FLOPs Step 1: Recall the model size and training data. GPT-3 (175B version) has N ≈ 175 × 10⁹ parameters. It was trained on roughly D ≈ 300 × 10⁹ tokens. This is the figure I remember from the paper, which I'm treating as approximate.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: To estimate the total number of Floating Point Operations (FLOPs) required to train GPT-3, we can use a standard heuristic derived from the scaling laws of transformer models. Here is the step-by-step derivation.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: 1-Month Health & Longevity Starter Plan Focus areas: Nutrition, Movement, and Sleep Guiding principle: Add one small habit at a time. Consistency beats intensity. Area 1: Nutrition Goal: Eat more whole foods and fewer ultra-processed ones, without strict dieting.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: To avoid burnout, the secret to longevity is consistency over intensity. This plan follows a "progressive loading" model: you start with small wins in Week 1 and gradually build complexity. Here is your 1-month roadmap focusing on Nutrition, Movement, and Sleep.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: "Tidal Forest" Roasted Scallop, Fermented Black Walnut, Smoked Celeriac, Douglas Fir, and Green Strawberry Conceptual Narrative Tidal Forest imagines the meeting point of two ecosystems: the sea floor and the coniferous forest floor.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Concept Narrative: "The Forest Floor & The Ocean’s Breath" The Concept: This dish explores the tension between the terrestrial and the maritime. We are pairing the deep, earthy, almost primal musk of Black Truffle with the delicate, saline, and floral notes of Sea Urchin (Uni).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A consulting contract with traps in it. Find them, then fix them.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Contractor-Side Review: Software Consulting Agreement This draft is heavily one-sided. Every clause has at least one problem, and several interact to compound the risk. The most dangerous are Sections 2, 3, 6, and 7. This is general analysis, not legal advice.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Disclaimer: I am an AI, not an attorney. This analysis is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with a qualified legal professional before signing any contract.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Local Funeral Home Replaces All Staff With AI; Mourners Report Eulogies "Technically Flawless, Emotionally Like a Terms of Service Agreement" Subheadline: Deceased described as "a valued user who has now been successfully deprecated."

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: "Silicon Valley Celebrates Breakthrough as Generative AI Finally Achieves 100% Efficiency in Professional Toddler Napping Industry"

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Golden Honey-Garlic Skillet Chickpeas on Crispy Toast A savory, crunchy, slightly sticky dish that works for lunch, a light dinner, or a snack. Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Total: 20 minutes Serves: 2 The 7 Ingredients 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and patted dry 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 cloves…

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Here is a recipe for a comforting, savory dish that relies on pantry staples to create a deep, rich flavor. The Golden Pantry Pasta A silky, garlic-infused pasta dish with a crispy, salty crunch.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Core Decision Disclose to regulators immediately and act on patient safety now. Do not wait for more data or for the 6-month formal timeline. Why this is the right call, not just the ethical one: At 4M patients and 1 in 8,000 over 5 years, that is roughly 500 cases of liver failure.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: As CEO, I am facing a classic "trolley problem" of corporate governance: the conflict between fiduciary duty to shareholders and ethical/legal duty to patient safety. My Decision Framework: I will not "wait for more data."

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Buy-side IC memo on a fictional SaaS company. Valuation, then the diligence questions.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: LedgerLift (LLLT) – Investment Committee Memo Recommendation Short (small initial size), 12-month PT range $30–40 (mid ~$35) vs. $46 spot. Thesis: LLLT is a high-quality compounder, but at $46 (7.4x NTM revenue, ~37x NTM EBIT, EV ≈ $7.3B) the price already sits near our bull DCF ($42).

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: INTERNAL INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEMO: LedgerLift (LLLT) TO: Investment Committee FROM: Long/Short Equity Team DATE: May 22, 2024 SUBJECT: Investment Recommendation: LLLT (Long) 1.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Sally has 1 sister. Each brother has 2 sisters, so there are 2 girls in the family in total. One of them is Sally, so the other is Sally's only sister. (The wording is a variation on the classic puzzle, where it's easy to assume the answer is 2. But that count includes Sally herself.)

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Sally has 1 sister. Here is the breakdown: Sally is a girl. She has 3 brothers. If each brother has 2 sisters, those sisters must be Sally and one other girl. Therefore, there are 2 girls in total (Sally + 1 sister), making Sally's sister count 1.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. I told my computer I needed a break, and now it won't stop sending me vacation ads. Why did the scarecrow win an award? He was outstanding in his field. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh. Why did the bicycle fall over?

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything! What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta! Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field! Parallel lines have so much in common. It’s a shame they’ll never meet. Why don't scientists trust atoms?

    Every model's answer to this prompt

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Favorites

Movie

Album

Book

City

Game

Claude Sonnet 5.5Claude Sonnet 5.5

Spirited Away

2001

Kind of Blue

Miles Davis

Gödel, Escher, Bach

Douglas R. Hofstadter

Kyoto

Japan

Outer Wilds

Indie, Adventure

Gemma 4 26B A4BGemma 4 26B A4B

2001: A Space Odyssey

1968

Discovery

Daft Punk

Gödel, Escher, Bach

Douglas R. Hofstadter

Tokyo

Japan

Portal 2

Shooter, Puzzle

Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Claude Sonnet 5.5 has the edge: newer, bigger context window. Gemma 4 26B A4B costs 25x less per token.

Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Gemma 4 26B A4B compared across 54 shared prompts
SpecClaude Sonnet 5.5Gemma 4 26B A4B
Input price$2/M tokens$0.13/M tokens
Output price$10/M tokens$0.4/M tokens
Context window1.0M tokens262K tokens
WeightsClosedOpen
Free API (OpenRouter)NoYes (1 provider)
ReleasedSep 2026Apr 2026
At 10M a month$20.00$20.00$1.30$1.30
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.

Where to run it18 hosts, cheapest first
Claude Sonnet 5.54 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Amazon Bedrock$2.00 in·$10.00 out·1M·99.9% up
  • Azure AI Foundry$2.00 in·$10.00 out·1M·100% up
  • Anthropic$2.00 in·$10.00 out·1M·100% up
  • Google Vertex AI$2.00 in·$10.00 out·1M·100% up
Gemma 4 26B A4B14 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • DDarkbloom$0.04 in·$0.22 out·131k·100% up
  • RReka$0.06 in·$0.20 out·262k·99.2% up
  • DDekaLLMbf16$0.06 in·$0.33 out·262k·99.9% up
  • DDeepInfrafp8$0.07 in·$0.34 out·262k·99.8% up
  • NNextBitbf16$0.08 in·$0.26 out·262k·99.9% up
  • MMakora$0.08 in·$0.32 out·256k·99.4% up
8 more hostsFewer hosts
  • Cloudflare Workers AI$0.10 in·$0.30 out·256k·99.8% up
  • CCoreWeavebf16$0.10 in·$0.30 out·262k·100% up
  • NNovitabf16$0.13 in·$0.40 out·262k·98.6% up
  • PParasailbf16$0.13 in·$0.40 out·262k·99.7% up
  • VVenicebf16$0.13 in·$0.40 out·256k·99.7% up
  • SSiliconFlowfp8$0.14 in·$0.40 out·262k·98.3% up
  • Iio.netbf16$0.15 in·$0.50 out·262k·99.4% up
  • Google Vertex AI$0.15 in·$0.60 out·262k·95.6% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 29 Sep 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Gemma 4 26B A4B?

Claude Sonnet 5.5 is developed by Anthropic while Gemma 4 26B A4B is developed by Google AI. Claude Sonnet 5.5 has a 1.0M token context window vs Gemma 4 26B A4B's 262K. You can compare their actual outputs across 54 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 5.5 or Gemma 4 26B A4B?

It depends on your use case. Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Gemma 4 26B A4B each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 54 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Claude Sonnet 5.5 cost compared to Gemma 4 26B A4B?

Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs $2/M input tokens and Gemma 4 26B A4B costs $0.13/M input tokens. Gemma 4 26B A4B is $1.87/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

How can I compare Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Gemma 4 26B A4B on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Gemma 4 26B A4B 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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