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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs o4-mini-deep-research

Claude Sonnet 5.5 comes out ahead, 46 to 37 on our weighted score, though o4-mini-deep-research is 21% cheaper per token.

  1. Our pick

    Anthropic

    Claude Sonnet 5.5

    Released Sep 28, 2026New

    46/100
    • ECI166.7
    • Price$2.00 / $10.00
    • Context1M
    Full specs Remove Claude Sonnet 5.5

  2. OpenAI

    o4-mini-deep-research

    Released Jun 26, 2025

    37/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.80 / $7.20
    • Context200K
    Full specs Remove o4-mini-deep-research

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Claude Sonnet 5.5 is our pick

Claude Sonnet 5.5 is the better all-round choice, scoring 46/100 against o4-mini-deep-research (37). It leads on inputs & features and context window. o4-mini-deep-research wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceo4-mini-deep-researcho4-mini-deep-research $3.15 · Claude Sonnet 5.5 $4.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextClaude Sonnet 5.5Claude Sonnet 5.5 1,000,000 · o4-mini-deep-research 200,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsClaude Sonnet 5.5Claude Sonnet 5.5: Text, Images, PDFs · o4-mini-deep-research: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightClaude Sonnet 5.5o4-mini-deep-research
Price50%2025
Inputs & features30%8060
Context window20%6032
Overall100%46/10037/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs o4-mini-deep-research specifications side by side
SpecificationClaude Sonnet 5.5Anthropico4-mini-deep-researchOpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)166.7—
ECI rank#5 of 165—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions95.6%—
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics88.8%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics100%—
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions46.5%—
Price per million tokens
Input$2.00$1.80 (best)
Output$10.00$7.20 (best)
Cached input$0.10—
Blended (3:1)$4.00$3.15 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Anthropic APIMedian of 1 providers
Limits
Context window1,000,000 tokens (best)200,000 tokens
Max output128,000 tokens (best)100,000 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsYesNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYeslow · medium · high · xhigh · maxYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDclaude-sonnet-5-5—
API providers34 (best)1
ReleasedSep 28, 2026Jun 26, 2025
Knowledge cutoffJun 2026May 2024
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Claude Sonnet 5.5$40.00
  • o4-mini-deep-research$32.40
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Claude Sonnet 5.5 or o4-mini-deep-research?

Claude Sonnet 5.5 is the better all-round choice, scoring 46/100 against o4-mini-deep-research (37). It leads on inputs & features and context window. o4-mini-deep-research wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 5.5 or o4-mini-deep-research?

o4-mini-deep-research is cheaper at $1.80 input / $7.20 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs $2.00 input / $10.00 output per million tokens (official Anthropic API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $3.15 per million tokens for o4-mini-deep-research versus $4.00 for Claude Sonnet 5.5 (1.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Claude Sonnet 5.5 has an ECI of 166.7 and o4-mini-deep-research has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Claude Sonnet 5.5 and o4-mini-deep-research yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Claude Sonnet 5.5 has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 200,000 for o4-mini-deep-research. Maximum output per response: Claude Sonnet 5.5 up to 128,000, o4-mini-deep-research up to 100,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Claude Sonnet 5.5 accepts text, images and PDFs; o4-mini-deep-research accepts text and images. Claude Sonnet 5.5 handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Claude Sonnet 5.5 and o4-mini-deep-research are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Claude Sonnet 5.5 is the newest, released Sep 28, 2026. o4-mini-deep-research came out Jun 26, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Claude Sonnet 5.5 Jun 2026, o4-mini-deep-research May 2024.

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 Nov 2, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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