Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs Claude Sonnet 4.6
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview comes out ahead, 68 to 62 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
GoogleGemini 3.1 Pro Preview
68/100- ECI154.8
- Price$2.00 / $12.00
- Context1.05M
AnthropicClaude Sonnet 4.6
62/100- ECI152.3
- Price$3.00 / $15.00
- Context1M
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Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is our pick
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Claude Sonnet 4.6 (62). It leads on capability, price and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityGemini 3.1 Pro PreviewCapabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview 154.8 · Claude Sonnet 4.6 152.3
- Lowest priceGemini 3.1 Pro PreviewGemini 3.1 Pro Preview $4.50 · Claude Sonnet 4.6 $6.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGemini 3.1 Pro PreviewGemini 3.1 Pro Preview 1,048,576 · Claude Sonnet 4.6 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGemini 3.1 Pro PreviewGemini 3.1 Pro Preview: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · Claude Sonnet 4.6: Text, Images, PDFs
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 84 | 81 |
| Price | 25% | 19 | 13 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 100 | 80 |
| Context window | 10% | 61 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 68/100 | 62/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Gemini 3.1 Pro PreviewGoogle | Claude Sonnet 4.6Anthropic |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 154.8 (best) | 152.3 |
| ECI rank | #31 of 148 (best) | #40 of 148 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 94.4% (best) | 87.4% |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics | 59.7% | — |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 95.6% (best) | 85.8% |
| SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues | 75.6% (best) | 75.2% |
| SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions | 73.5% (best) | 35.5% |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $2.00 (best) | $3.00 |
| Output | $12.00 (best) | $15.00 |
| Cached input | $0.20 (best) | $0.30 |
| Blended (3:1) | $4.50 (best) | $6.00 |
| Long-context rate | Over 200K: $4.00 / $18.00 | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Google API | Official Anthropic API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens (best) | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens (best) | 64,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | Yes | Yes |
| Audio | Yes | No |
| Video | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yeslow · medium · high | Yeslow · medium · high · max |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | claude-sonnet-4-6 |
| API providers | 26 | 41 (best) |
| Released | Feb 19, 2026 | Feb 17, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jan 2025 | Aug 31, 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview$44.00
- Claude Sonnet 4.6$60.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview or Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Claude Sonnet 4.6 (62). It leads on capability, price and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview or Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is cheaper at $2.00 input / $12.00 output per million tokens (official Google API price). Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.00 input / $15.00 output per million tokens (official Anthropic API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $4.50 per million tokens for Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview versus $6.00 for Claude Sonnet 4.6 (1.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview 154.8 (#31 of 148) and Claude Sonnet 4.6 152.3 (#40 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (152.6–157.3 vs 149.6–154.7), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview 94.4%, Claude Sonnet 4.6 87.4%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview 95.6%, Claude Sonnet 4.6 85.8%; SWE-bench Verified — Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview 75.6%, Claude Sonnet 4.6 75.2%; SimpleQA Verified — Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview 73.5%, Claude Sonnet 4.6 35.5%.
Which is better for coding?
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview resolves more real GitHub issues on SWE-bench Verified: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview 75.6% and Claude Sonnet 4.6 75.2%. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 1,000,000 for Claude Sonnet 4.6. Maximum output per response: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview up to 65,536, Claude Sonnet 4.6 up to 64,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; Claude Sonnet 4.6 accepts text, images and PDFs. Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview and Claude Sonnet 4.6 are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is the newest, released Feb 19, 2026. Claude Sonnet 4.6 came out Feb 17, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Jan 2025, Claude Sonnet 4.6 Aug 31, 2025.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.
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