Claude vs Grok: which is better?
Updated:
A comparison of the flagship text models Claude Opus 5 and Grok 4.6 across intelligence, API price, context window, and output speed.
Claude and Grok by the numbers
The gap on the composite Intelligence Index is small: 63 against 61. For developers, the clearest differences are token price and context size.
Intelligence Index
API price
input / output per 1M tokens
Context
Output speed
output tokens per second
Claude vs Grok: flagship model comparison
| Criterion | Claude Opus 5 | Grok 4.6 | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Index | 63 in max mode. | 61 in high mode. | Claude Opus 5 leads the ranking; Grok 4.6 trails by 2 points. |
| API price | $5 input and $25 output per 1M tokens from Anthropic. | $2 input and $6 output per 1M tokens from xAI. | Grok 4.6 is 2.5× cheaper on input and roughly 4× cheaper on output. |
| Context | 1M tokens. | 500K tokens. | Claude Opus 5 fits twice as much text in one request. |
| Output speed | 52.7 tokens per second. | 58.3 tokens per second. | Grok 4.6 responds slightly faster, which shows in interactive use. |
| Reasoning | Adaptive thinking with effort levels up to max. | Configurable reasoning effort. | Both support complex multi-step work. |
Which one to choose
Hard reasoning and long context — Claude Opus 5
The top Intelligence Index score and a 1M-token window help when one request must contain a large repository, a document set, or a long conversation history.
Volume and cost — Grok 4.6
For a 2-point Intelligence Index difference, Grok 4.6 officially costs $2 per 1M input and $6 per 1M output tokens. On high-volume workloads that gap dominates the bill.
Production — test both
One benchmark cannot decide every project. Quality on your data, context length, speed, and completed-task cost all matter.
Choose the model for the task
Grok API Dev brings Grok, Claude, GPT, and other popular models into one interface. One key and one balance — switch between them per workload without changing your SDK.
Frequently asked questions
Is Claude smarter than Grok?
On the Artificial Analysis composite Intelligence Index, Claude Opus 5 scores 63 in max mode and Grok 4.6 scores 61 in high mode. The gap is small and the order can flip on a specific task, so decide from measurements on your own data.
Which is cheaper, Claude or Grok?
Grok 4.6 is cheaper: $2 per 1M input and $6 per 1M output tokens against $5 and $25 for Claude Opus 5. Output tokens differ by roughly 4×, so long answers and high-volume workloads save the most.
Which model has the larger context window?
Claude Opus 5 has a 1M-token context window; Grok 4.6 has 500K. Claude fits twice as much text in one request, which matters for large codebases and document sets.
Which is better for coding, Claude or Grok?
Both target complex code and agentic tool calling. Claude Opus 5 leads on long multi-step tasks and large context; Grok 4.6 is the better economic fit where cost and request volume dominate. The practical approach is to run both on your own tasks.
Can I use Claude and Grok through one API?
Yes. Grok API Dev serves Grok, Claude, GPT, and other models through one OpenAI-compatible endpoint, one API key, and a shared balance. Switching models means changing the model value in the request.