Last verified 2025-11-26 (left) · 2025-09-22 (right)
Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Grok 4 — Pricing & Capability Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.5 charges $3.00 per million input tokens and $15.00 per million output tokens. Grok 4 comes in at $3.00 / $15.00. Context windows span 200K vs 256K tokens respectively.
TL;DR — Quick Comparison
- ✓Claude Sonnet 4.5 is cheaper overall: $18.00 per 1M tokens (in+out) vs $18.00 for Grok 4 — saves $0.00 per 1M tokens
- ✓Input pricing: Claude Sonnet 4.5 $3.00/1M vs Grok 4 $3.00/1M
- ✓Output pricing: Claude Sonnet 4.5 $15.00/1M vs Grok 4 $15.00/1M
- ✓Context window: Grok 4 offers more (256K vs 200K)
- ✓Use our calculator below to estimate costs for your specific usage pattern
Input price (per 1M)
Claude Sonnet 4.5
$3.00
Grok 4
$3.00
Claude Sonnet 4.5 leads here
Output price (per 1M)
Claude Sonnet 4.5
$15.00
Grok 4
$15.00
Claude Sonnet 4.5 leads here
Context window
Claude Sonnet 4.5
200,000 tokens
Grok 4
256,000 tokens
Grok 4 leads here
Cached input
Claude Sonnet 4.5
$0.300
Grok 4
$0.750
Claude Sonnet 4.5 leads here
Cost comparison for 10K-token workloads
Side-by-side pricing for identical workloads (10,000 total tokens per request) across different distributions.
| Scenario | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Grok 4 | Claude Sonnet 4.5 cached | Grok 4 cached |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Balanced conversation 50% input · 50% output | $0.0900 | $0.0900 | $0.0765 | $0.0788 |
Input-heavy workflow 80% input · 20% output | $0.0540 | $0.0540 | $0.0324 | $0.0360 |
Generation heavy 30% input · 70% output | $0.114 | $0.114 | $0.106 | $0.107 |
Cached system prompt 90% cached input · 10% fresh output | $0.0420 | $0.0420 | $0.0177 | $0.0217 |
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper: Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Grok 4?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 is cheaper for input tokens at $3.00 per 1M tokens compared to $3.00. For output, Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $15.00 per 1M tokens versus $15.00 for Grok 4.
What is the cost per 1M tokens for Claude Sonnet 4.5?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 pricing: $3.00 per 1M input tokens and $15.00 per 1M output tokens. Context window: 200,000 tokens.
What is the cost per 1M tokens for Grok 4?
Grok 4 pricing: $3.00 per 1M input tokens and $15.00 per 1M output tokens. Context window: 256,000 tokens.
How much does it cost per 1K tokens?
Per 1K tokens: Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $0.0030 input / $0.0150 output. Grok 4 costs $0.0030 input / $0.0150 output. This is useful for calculating small-scale usage costs.
Which model supports a larger context window?
Grok 4 offers 256,000 tokens (256K) versus 200K for Claude Sonnet 4.5.
What is the estimated monthly cost for typical usage?
For a typical workload of 10M input + 2M output tokens per month: Claude Sonnet 4.5 would cost approximately $60.00, while Grok 4 would cost $60.00. Claude Sonnet 4.5 is more economical for this usage pattern.
Do these models support prompt caching?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 supports prompt caching at $0.300 per 1M cached tokens, reducing costs for repeated context by up to 90%. Grok 4 supports caching at $0.750 per 1M tokens, saving up to 75%.
Which model is best for my use case?
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.5 for cost-sensitive applications with high input volume. Choose Grok 4 if you need 256K context for long documents or conversations. Consider prompt caching if you have repeated context. Use our token calculator to model your specific usage pattern.