Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-5.6 Terra
The default mid-tier picks from Anthropic and OpenAI, at nearly the same list price. Both list prices from the makers’ own pages, and what three everyday jobs cost on each.
US dollars, standard rate, shortest context band. Price only: this page does not rank quality.
- Claude Sonnet 5
- $10.00
- GPT-5.6 Terra
- $10.80
- Claude Sonnet 5, per M tokens
- $2 / $10
- GPT-5.6 Terra, per M tokens
- $2 / $12
3,000 tokens in and 400 out each, at list price.
Per million tokens, Claude Sonnet 5 costs $2 in and $10 out; GPT-5.6 Terra costs $2 in and $12 out. 1,000 support replies cost $10.80 on GPT-5.6 Terra and $10.00 on Claude Sonnet 5, so GPT-5.6 Terra costs 8% more. Claude Sonnet 5 reads up to 1M tokens at once, GPT-5.6 Terra up to 1.05M.
Side by side
Each maker’s published rate for its standard tier. Cached input is what a repeated prompt prefix costs once the provider has stored it.
| Fact | Claude Sonnet 5 | GPT-5.6 Terra |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Anthropic | OpenAI |
| Tier | Workhorses | Workhorses |
| Input, per M tokens | $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Output, per M tokens | $10.00 | $12.00 |
| Cached input | $0.20 | $0.20 |
| Context window | 1M | 1.05M |
| Released | 30 Jun 2026 | 9 Jul 2026 |
| Weights | Closed | Closed |
What a job costs on each
1,000 runs of each job at the two list prices. The gap moves from job to job because the models price input, output and cached context differently.
| Job | Claude Sonnet 5 | GPT-5.6 Terra | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support reply3,000 in, 400 out. | $10.00 | $10.80 | Claude Sonnet 5, 7% less |
| Document summary25,000 in, 1,000 out. | $60.00 | $62.00 | Claude Sonnet 5, 3% less |
| Agent task80,000 in (70,000 cached), 3,000 out. | $64.00 | $70.00 | Claude Sonnet 5, 9% less |
The token counts are ours, chosen to look like real work; the prices are the makers’. A model with no published cache price bills the agent task’s repeated context at its full input rate.
The small print
What each base rate leaves out, from the makers’ own pages: surcharges, discounts, promotions and cache pricing.
- Claude Sonnet 5
- The introductory $2 / $10 price became the standard price; the planned rise to $3 / $15 was cancelled. Cache write $2.50 (5 min) or $4 (1 h). Batch API 50% off. US-only inference (inference_geo) bills 1.1x. Full context window billed at standard rates. Anthropic’s pricing page
- GPT-5.6 Terra
- OpenAI calls it the mini tier of the 5.6 family; tiered mid here on price. Price cut 20% on 2026-07-30. Requests above 272K input tokens bill 2x input and 1.5x output ($4 / $18). Cache write $2.50. Batch and Flex 50% off. Data residency adds 10%. OpenAI’s pricing page
Other comparisons
Every head to head on the list that involves Claude Sonnet 5 or GPT-5.6 Terra.
Run both for a quarter of list price
AIGROW API credit covers Claude Sonnet 5 and GPT-5.6 Terra and is metered at the list prices above: $25 buys $100 of usage.
Prices checked 22 September 2026