AI model comparison
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs Claude Sonnet 4.6
Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is Google’s frontier reasoning model, delivering enhanced software engineering performance, improved agentic reliability, and more efficient token usage across complex workflows.
- Input / 1M
- $2
- Output / 1M
- $12
- Context
- 1.05M
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Sonnet 4.6 is Anthropic's most capable Sonnet-class model yet, with frontier performance across coding, agents, and professional work.
- Input / 1M
- $3
- Output / 1M
- $15
- Context
- 1M
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
1.4x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Claude Sonnet 4.6
30.1 vs 29.7 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
1.05M vs 1M tokens
Newer release
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
Released February 19, 2026
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview29.7Claude Sonnet 4.630.1Coding index
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview68.8Claude Sonnet 4.663Agentic index
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview8.2Claude Sonnet 4.631.8Pricing
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs Claude Sonnet 4.6 API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $2 | $3 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $12 | $15 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.20 | $0.30 |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | $0.38 | $3.75 |
| Long-context pricingPer 1M tokens, for very long prompts | $4 in / $18 out above 200K | Same rate at any length |
| Web searchPer request | $0.014 | $0.01 |
What it costs in practice
Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.
Chat message
2K in, 500 out
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview$10Claude Sonnet 4.6$13.50Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview$108$54 cachedClaude Sonnet 4.6$150$69 cachedLong document summary
150K in, 2K out
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview$324$54 cachedClaude Sonnet 4.6$480$75 cachedSpecs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 1.05M tokens | 1M tokens |
| Max output | 66K tokens | 128K tokens |
| Input types | Audio, File, Image, Text, Video | File, Image, Text |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | High, Medium, Low | Max, High, Medium, Low |
| Default reasoning effort | Medium | Medium |
| Release date | February 19, 2026 | February 17, 2026 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Supported |
| Reasoning | Supported | Supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Not supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Supported |
Keep exploring
More on these models
Other head-to-heads, the full model page, and the alternatives list for each model.
Gemini 3.1 Pro PreviewView full model details- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs Claude Opus 5.5
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs GPT-6 Astra
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs GLM 5.2
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs Gemini 3.5 Flash
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs GPT-5.3-Codex
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs Claude Opus 4.6
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs GPT-5.2
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs Qwen3.7 Max
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs Claude Opus 4.5
- Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs GPT-5.2-Codex
Claude Sonnet 4.6View full model details- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GLM 5.2
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 5
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Gemini 3.5 Flash
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-5.3-Codex
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Claude Opus 4.6
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-5.2
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Qwen3.7 Max
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Claude Opus 4.5
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GPT-5.2-Codex
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 4.5
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Claude Opus 4.1
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 4
Our take
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is 1.4x cheaper for a typical chat. Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (30.1 vs 29.7). Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview has the larger context window (1.05M vs 1M tokens). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview or Claude Sonnet 4.6 cheaper?
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview costs $2 per 1M input tokens and $12 per 1M output tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3 per 1M input tokens and $15 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview or Claude Sonnet 4.6?
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview supports up to 1.05M tokens of context, compared with 1M for Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Is Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview smarter than Claude Sonnet 4.6?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview scores 29.7 and Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 30.1, putting Claude Sonnet 4.6 ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.
Can I use Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview and Claude Sonnet 4.6 at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview and Claude Sonnet 4.6 answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview and Claude Sonnet 4.6 at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.