# Claude Sonnet 4 ![Organization](https://img.shields.io/badge/Org-Anthropic-d97757) ![Context](https://img.shields.io/badge/Context-200K%20tokens-1f6feb) ![Pricing](https://img.shields.io/badge/Price-%243%20%2F%20%2415%20per%201M-2da44e) ![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Proprietary-d29922) ![Modality](https://img.shields.io/badge/Modality-Text%20%2B%20Vision-8957e5) ![Released](https://img.shields.io/badge/Released-May%202025-555) > **Quick answer:** Claude Sonnet 4 (released May 22, 2025) is Anthropic's mid-tier model from the Claude 4 generation, posting 72.7% on SWE-bench Verified — effectively matching the flagship Opus 4 — at $3/$15 per million tokens. A hybrid reasoning model with extended thinking, it was immediately adopted by GitHub Copilot as its primary coding agent backbone. ## At a Glance **Where Claude Sonnet 4 leads** - 72.7% SWE-bench Verified at $3/$15 — delivers Opus-class coding performance at Sonnet pricing - GitHub Copilot's choice for its new coding agent, with Manus and iGent reporting significant gains over Sonnet 3.7 - Enhanced steerability — follows complex instructions more precisely with fewer navigation errors - Extended thinking with tool use for tasks requiring deep reasoning **Where it lags** - Superseded by Sonnet 4.5 and Sonnet 4.6 for new builds - 200K context (Sonnet 4.6 offers 1M in beta) **Best for:** high-volume production coding agents and enterprise workflows needing Opus-level quality at sustainable cost. ## What Claude Sonnet 4 Is Claude Sonnet 4 launched alongside Opus 4 on May 22, 2025. The headline story was the benchmark: 72.7% on SWE-bench Verified, barely behind Opus 4's 72.5% (the small difference is within measurement variance), at 5× lower cost. This made it the obvious default for teams building coding agents at scale, with Opus 4 reserved for workflows where reliability over very long runs justified the premium. Anthropomorphically, it is described as a "significant upgrade from Sonnet 3.7" with enhanced steerability — meaning it follows system prompt constraints and complex multi-part instructions more faithfully, a critical property for agent systems where the model needs to stay on track across many steps. GitHub moved Copilot's coding agent to Sonnet 4 at launch. ## Specifications | Field | Value | |---|---| | Organization | Anthropic | | API identifier | `claude-sonnet-4-20250514` | | Context window | 200,000 tokens | | Max output | 16,000 tokens | | License | Proprietary | | Release date | May 22, 2025 | | Knowledge cutoff | March 2025 | | Modality | Multimodal (text and vision) | ## Pricing | | Input (per 1M tokens) | Output (per 1M tokens) | |---|---|---| | Anthropic | $3.00 | $15.00 | Source: [Anthropic pricing page](https://claude.com/pricing#api). ## Public Benchmark Scores | Benchmark | Score | Source | Date | |---|---|---|---| | [SWE-bench Verified](/benchmarks/swe-bench-verified) | 72.7% | [Anthropic — Introducing Claude 4](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-4) | 2025-05 | | Terminal-bench 2.0 | 35.5% | [Anthropic — Introducing Claude 4](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-4) | 2025-05 | | GPQA Diamond (w/ extended thinking) | 76.0% | [Anthropic — Introducing Claude 4](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-4) | 2025-05 | *Scores reported by Anthropic. Not Benchgen measurements.* ## Claude Sonnet 4 vs Alternatives | Model | SWE-bench Verified | GPQA Diamond | Price (in/out per 1M) | |---|---|---|---| | **Claude Sonnet 4** | 72.7% | 76.0% | $3 / $15 | | [Claude Opus 4](/models/anthropic/claude-opus-4) | 72.5% | 79.1% | $15 / $75 | | [Claude Sonnet 4.6](/models/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6) | ~73%+ | — | $3 / $15 | | [GPT-5](/models/openai/gpt-5) | 74.9% | — | $1.25 / $10 | Sonnet 4 delivers near-identical SWE-bench scores to Opus 4 at one-fifth the cost. Sonnet 4.6 improves on it at the same price. GPT-5 slightly leads on SWE-bench at lower output pricing. *(Rival scores from respective announcements; not Benchgen measurements.)* ## Related Models & Benchmarks - Compare: [Claude Opus 4](/models/anthropic/claude-opus-4) · [Claude Sonnet 4.6](/models/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6) · [GPT-5](/models/openai/gpt-5) - Benchmarks: [SWE-bench Verified](/benchmarks/swe-bench-verified) ## Frequently Asked Questions

What is Claude Sonnet 4?

Claude Sonnet 4 is Anthropic's mid-tier model from the Claude 4 generation, released May 22, 2025. It matches Claude Opus 4's SWE-bench Verified score (72.7% vs 72.5%) at 5× lower cost, making it the default choice for production coding agents.

How much does Claude Sonnet 4 cost?

$3 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens.

--- *Specs sourced from [Anthropic's Claude 4 announcement](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-4). Last updated 2026-06-19.* --- # Claude Sonnet 4 Claude Sonnet 4 is a large language model developed by Anthropic.

Claude Sonnet 4 — Files