Model comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
Compare Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview API pricing: input/output token costs, cache pricing, context windows, workload estimates, and routing fit.
Claude Sonnet 4.6
anthropic · claude-sonnet-4-6
- Input
- $3
- Output
- $15
- Context
- 1M
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
gemini · gemini/gemini-3.1-pro-preview
- Input
- $2
- Output
- $12
- Context
- 1M
Quick take
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview has the lower input price at $2 per 1M input tokens. Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is cheaper for the example blended workload below. Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview has the larger context window at 1M tokens.
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 if...
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 is a reasonable pick when its provider, latency, or integration path fits your stack better.
Choose Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview if...
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is the better default for cost-sensitive traffic and repeated high-volume calls.
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is safer for long documents, repository analysis, and RAG prompts because it has the larger context window.
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview gives more room for long generated answers, reports, or code output.
Example workload cost
Estimates use input tokens plus 20% output tokens. They exclude provider discounts, cache hits, and tool/search surcharges.
| Workload | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M input + 200K output | $6.00 | $4.40 | Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview |
| 10M input + 2M output | $60.00 | $44.00 | Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview |
| 100M input + 20M output | $600.00 | $440.00 | Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview |
Context, output, and capability fit
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview provides the larger context window. Check max output separately when the task needs long reports, code generation, or full-document rewrites.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 max output
- 64K
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview max output
- 65.5K
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 features
- prompt caching, function calling, vision
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview features
- prompt caching, function calling, vision
Risk notes for Claude Sonnet 4.6
- No major capability risk is flagged in this snapshot, but provider pages should still be verified before production routing.
Risk notes for Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
- Preview or beta model: verify availability and pricing before production rollout.
Routing tags
frontierreasoningcodingagentsenterprise-ragcache-friendlyragpreviewlong-contextmultimodal