Head-to-head list prices

Gemini 4 Argon vs Claude Sonnet 5.5 API Pricing

Compare verified published API prices for Gemini 4 Argon and Claude Sonnet 5.5. This page compares price, not output quality.

Last verified Oct 14, 2026

Quick answer

Verified Oct 14, 2026, Gemini 4 Argon lists input at $2.00 and output at $10.00 per 1M tokens, while Claude Sonnet 5.5 lists $2.00 input and $10.00 output. They have the same published list price for both token types; their published context window differs, and this comparison does not assess output quality.

ModelInput $/1MCached input $/1MOutput $/1MSourceLast verified
Gemini 4 Argon$2.00$0.10$10.00Official sourceOct 14, 2026
Claude Sonnet 5.5$2.00$0.10$10.00Official sourceOct 9, 2026

Prices from official provider pages, verified on the date shown.

Published rates

Side-by-side API pricing

FieldGemini 4 ArgonClaude Sonnet 5.5
ProviderGoogleAnthropic
Input / 1M$2.00$2.00
Cached input / 1M$0.10$0.10
Output / 1M$10.00$10.00
Batch input / 1M$1.00$1.00
Batch output / 1M$5.00$5.00
Context windowNot verified in V2 projection1M
Release dateOct 13, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Official sourceGoogle pricing ↗
Last verified Oct 14, 2026
Anthropic pricing ↗
Last verified Oct 9, 2026

Standard token prices

Which is cheaper depends on your input:output ratio

Costs below allocate 1M total tokens across each input:output ratio. They use standard prices only, without cache or Batch discounts.

Input:output ratioGemini 4 ArgonClaude Sonnet 5.5Cheaper published price
10:1 (RAG / long context)$2.73$2.73Same price
3:1 (chat)$4.00$4.00Same price
1:1$6.00$6.00Same price
1:3 (long generation)$8.00$8.00Same price

Computed examples

Monthly cost for real workloads

WorkloadAssumed volumeGemini 4 ArgonClaude Sonnet 5.5Difference
Side project10,000 requests/month
8,000,000 input + 3,000,000 output tokens
$46.00$46.00Same cost
Customer support chatbot10,000 conversations/month
121,650,000 input + 10,800,000 output tokens
$351.30$351.30Same cost
Agent task1,000 tasks/month
12,000,000 input + 3,200,000 output tokens
$56.00$56.00Same cost

Assumptions

  • Side project: 10,000 requests per month, with 800 input and 300 output tokens per request.
  • Customer support chatbot: 10,000 conversations, with 6 replies per conversation, 600 system tokens, 90 user-message tokens, 1,000 retrieved-context tokens, 180 output tokens per reply, and 50% history carry.
  • Agent task: 1,000 tasks, with 8 calls per task and 1,500 input plus 400 output tokens per call.
  • All three rows use standard non-cached, non-batch prices and exclude retries, tools, storage, and taxes.

Provider conditions

Pricing rules that can change the answer

Verified changes

Price history

  1. On Oct 13, 2026, Google Gemini added Gemini 4 Argon with published input $2.00 and output $10.00 per 1M tokens.

    View this update in the price monitor
  2. On Sep 28, 2026, Anthropic added Claude Sonnet 5.5 with published input $2.00 and output $10.00 per 1M tokens.

    View this update in the price monitor

Operational costs

Cheaper per token is not always cheaper per task

Retries, failed calls, fallback requests, and longer outputs can raise the cost of completing a task even when the published token price is lower. Model the effect with the LLM Retry & Fallback Cost Calculator, read the cost-per-successful-task guide, or estimate a migration with the Model Switch Cost Calculator.

Primary evidence and next steps

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Is Gemini 4 Argon cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5.5?

Input prices are the same. Output prices are the same. This compares published list prices, not output quality.

How much do Gemini 4 Argon and Claude Sonnet 5.5 cost for 10,000 requests a month?

At 800 input and 300 output tokens per request, Gemini 4 Argon costs about $46.00 and Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs about $46.00 at standard list prices.

Which is cheaper for input-heavy workloads like RAG?

At a 10:1 input-to-output token ratio, Gemini 4 Argon costs $2.73 and Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs $2.73 per 1M total tokens. Same price.

Where do these prices come from?

The prices come from Google and Anthropic official pricing sources, verified on Oct 14, 2026 and Oct 9, 2026, respectively. See the AI API pricing dataset.