Claude Sonnet 5 vs Claude Haiku 4.5
Anthropic's mid-tier against Anthropic's speed / budget tier — published pricing, context windows and specs, side by side.
Claude Sonnet 5 vs Claude Haiku 4.5: side-by-side
| Claude Sonnet 5 | Claude Haiku 4.5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Anthropic | Anthropic |
| Released | 30 June 2026 | 15 October 2025 |
| Tier | Mid-tier | Speed / budget tier |
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens (default & max) | 200,000 tokens |
| Max output | Up to 128,000 tokens | Up to 64,000 tokens |
| API price (per 1M) | $2 / $10 intro (to 31 Aug 2026) · $3 / $15 standard | $1 / $5 per 1M tokens |
| Access | Proprietary — Claude API & claude.ai (default model on Free & Pro plans) | Proprietary — Claude API & claude.ai |
| Best at | Agentic coding, high-volume production work, large-codebase tasks | High-volume, latency-sensitive, cost-sensitive tasks; subagents |
| Standout | 1M context by default; early-access partners report it finishes tasks earlier Sonnets stopped short on and checks its own output | Sonnet 4-level coding at one-third the cost and 2x+ the speed; extended thinking (a Haiku first) |
Price comparison
| Model | Input (per 1M) | Output (per 1M) |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 5 (intro, to 31 Aug 2026) | $2.00 | $10.00 |
| Claude Sonnet 5 (standard, from 1 Sep 2026) | $3.00 | $15.00 |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | $1.00 | $5.00 |
What the table says
- Pricing. Claude Sonnet 5 lists at $2 / $10 intro (to 31 Aug 2026) · $3 / $15 standard; Claude Haiku 4.5 lists at $1 / $5 per 1M tokens. On these published rates, Claude Haiku 4.5's input price is 2x lower than Claude Sonnet 5's, and Claude Haiku 4.5's output price is 2x lower than Claude Sonnet 5's. Claude Sonnet 5's standard rate card from 1 September 2026 is $3 / $15 per 1M tokens.
- Context. Claude Sonnet 5's context window (1,000,000 tokens (default & max)) is about 5x the size of Claude Haiku 4.5's (200,000 tokens).
- Access. Both are proprietary, hosted-API models; neither publishes weights for self-hosting.
Key takeaway
Everything above is drawn from the two models' published rate cards and spec sheets. Which one fits depends on the workload you price it against — run your own token volumes through the pricing calculator to see the monthly difference.
Full Claude Sonnet 5 overview Full Claude Haiku 4.5 overview
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 5 or Claude Haiku 4.5?
Claude Haiku 4.5 — it lists at $1 / $5 per 1M tokens versus $2 / $10 intro (to 31 Aug 2026) · $3 / $15 standard for Claude Sonnet 5.
Which has the bigger context window, Claude Sonnet 5 or Claude Haiku 4.5?
Claude Sonnet 5 — 1,000,000 tokens (default & max), versus 200,000 tokens for Claude Haiku 4.5.
Which model is newer?
Claude Sonnet 5 is the more recent release (30 June 2026); Claude Haiku 4.5 was released 15 October 2025.
Can I run Claude Sonnet 5 or Claude Haiku 4.5 locally?
No — both Claude Sonnet 5 and Claude Haiku 4.5 are proprietary models accessed through their vendors' APIs and apps; neither publishes weights.