Blended rate
Same for both
$4.00 per 1M each
Higher benchmark scores
Claude Sonnet 5.5
leads on 12 of 16 figures
Bigger context window
Gemini 4 Argon
1,048,576 vs 1,000,000 tokens
Where each one wins
Gemini 4 Argon
- Larger context window 1,048,576 tokens
- Higher expert-exam performance (Humanity's Last Exam) 57.1 vs 55
- Higher scientific coding (SciCode) 61.8 vs 61
- Higher answer reliability (Omniscience Non-Hallucination) 84.9 vs 53
- Ahead on 1 more benchmark figure
Claude Sonnet 5.5
- Longer maximum output 128,000 tokens
- Higher overall intelligence (Intelligence Index) 56 vs 52.6
- Higher long-context reasoning (AA-LCR) 82.7 vs 79.7
- Higher physics research reasoning (CritPt) 31.4 vs 27.1
- Ahead on 9 more benchmark figures
- Offers Batch pricing not listed for Gemini 4 Argon
What four workloads cost
One run, and the same run a thousand times.
These two cost the same on all four workloads, so price will not decide between them.
| Workload | Gemini 4 Argon | Claude Sonnet 5.5 | ×1,000 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat turn 1,000 in / 500 out | $0.0070 | $0.0070 | $7.00 / $7.00 | Same |
| RAG answer 10,000 in / 800 out | $0.0280 | $0.0280 | $28.00 / $28.00 | Same |
| Agent loop 32,000 in / 700 out × 20 calls | $0.2800 | $0.2800 | $280.00 / $280.00 | Same |
| Long document 400,000 in / 3,000 out | $0.8300 | $0.8300 | $830.00 / $830.00 | Same |
Price per 1M tokens
Neither model changes its rate with prompt length, so these rates apply to every request.
| Context band | Price | Gemini 4 Argon | Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any prompt length | Input | $2.00 | $2.00 | Same |
| Any prompt length | Cached input | $0.10 | $0.10 | Same |
| Any prompt length | Output | $10.00 | $10.00 | Same |
Blended: Gemini 4 Argon $4.00, Claude Sonnet 5.5 $4.00 per 1M — one rate at 3:1 input to output, for comparing two models at a glance.
Gemini 4 Argon priced by Perplexity, Claude Sonnet 5.5 by Anthropic. Standard tier, pay-as-you-go.
Other pricing tiers
Only Claude Sonnet 5.5 lists Batch, at up to 50% off its own standard rate; Gemini 4 Argon does not offer it.
Every tier either model sells is here, so this is the whole price sheet. A saving is measured against that model's own standard rate — how we read tiers.
| Tier | Gemini 4 Argon | Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batch only on Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Not offered | $1.00 in / $5.00 out 50% off Standard | — |
Benchmarks
They share 16 figures: Gemini 4 Argon leads on 4, Claude Sonnet 5.5 on 12. The widest gap is 138 points, on Blender3d Elo.
Overall intelligence
Intelligence Index — Overall intelligence across reasoning, knowledge & math evals
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 3.4
Expert-exam performance
Humanity's Last Exam — Expert-level questions across many academic domains
Gemini 4 Argon ahead by 2.1
Long-context reasoning
AA-LCR — Long-context reasoning across large inputs
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 3
Scientific coding
SciCode — Research-level scientific coding tasks
Gemini 4 Argon ahead by 0.8
Physics research reasoning
CritPt — Unpublished physics research reasoning problems
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 4.3
Real-world task performance
GDPval — Economically valuable, real-world knowledge work
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 10.7
Factual accuracy
Omniscience Accuracy — Breadth of factual knowledge across domains
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 4
Answer reliability
Omniscience Non-Hallucination — How reliably the model avoids fabricated answers
Gemini 4 Argon ahead by 31.9
Blender3d Elo
Design Arena head-to-head rating in the blender3d category
Gemini 4 Argon ahead by 138
Spreadsheet Elo
Design Arena head-to-head rating in the spreadsheet category
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 100
3d Elo
Design Arena head-to-head rating in the 3d category
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 15
Codecategories Elo
Design Arena head-to-head rating in the codecategories category
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 24
Dataviz Elo
Design Arena head-to-head rating in the dataviz category
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 40
Gamedev Elo
Design Arena head-to-head rating in the gamedev category
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 45
Uicomponent Elo
Design Arena head-to-head rating in the uicomponent category
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 41
Website Elo
Design Arena head-to-head rating in the website category
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ahead by 7
Each figure is that model's best published run, with the effort level named beside it — where these scores come from.
Specifications
Gemini 4 Argon holds 48,576 more input tokens in one request. Gemini 4 Argon also takes audio and video. Only Gemini 4 Argon lists code execution and computer use.
| Specification | Gemini 4 Argon | Claude Sonnet 5.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Takes in | Text, audio, image, video, file | Text, image, file |
| Puts out | Text | Text |
| Knowledge cutoff | 31 Mar 2026 | — |
| Released | 13 Oct 2026 | 28 Sep 2026 |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Sold by | Perplexity | Anthropic, Perplexity |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Web search | Not listed | Not listed |
| Prompt caching | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | Not listed |
| Computer use | Yes | Not listed |
| Open weights | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
FAQs
- Is Gemini 4 Argon cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5.5?
- They cost the same on a typical exchange: 1,000 input tokens with a 500-token reply comes to $0.0070 on either.
- How much do Gemini 4 Argon and Claude Sonnet 5.5 cost per 1M tokens?
- Gemini 4 Argon costs $2.00 for input and $10.00 for output. Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs $2.00 and $10.00. Standard pay-as-you-go rates, as of 17 Oct 2026.
- Which is better, Gemini 4 Argon or Claude Sonnet 5.5?
- On published benchmarks, Claude Sonnet 5.5. It leads on 12 of the 16 figures both models report, including overall intelligence (Intelligence Index), where it scores 56 against 52.6.
- Does Gemini 4 Argon or Claude Sonnet 5.5 offer batch pricing?
- Claude Sonnet 5.5 only. Its batch input costs $1.00, 50% off its standard rate, and Gemini 4 Argon lists no batch tier at all.
- Does Gemini 4 Argon or Claude Sonnet 5.5 have a bigger context window?
- Gemini 4 Argon, at 1,048,576 tokens against 1,000,000. That is 48,576 more input tokens in a single request.