Claude Sonnet 5
VS
Grok 4.20
Claude Sonnet 5 vs Grok 4.20: which wins at real work?
22 task areas · same graded test runs · rank comparison only, so 0–100 and Elo collections never mix raw scores.
Claude Sonnet 5 wins 19 of 22 task areas we tested; Grok 4.20 takes 3. Grok 4.20 costs 3.2× less per token ($3.75 vs $12 per 1M).
Grok 4.20 costs 3.2× less per token ($3.75 vs $12 per 1M).
Task by task
| Task area | Claude Sonnet 5 | Grok 4.20 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data & Analytics |
#16
/ 110
Excellent
|
#102
/ 110
Excellent
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Coding |
#6
/ 115
Excellent
|
#86
/ 115
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Chef / Home Cooking |
#28
/ 126
Usable
|
#100
/ 126
Needs editing
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Sales |
#16
/ 110
Strong
|
#85
/ 110
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| AI Strategy |
#2
/ 126
Strong
|
#59
/ 126
Strong
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Translation & Localization |
#41
/ 110
Excellent
|
#98
/ 110
Strong
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Landing Pages |
#12
/ 72
Strong
|
#66
/ 72
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Knowledge & Docs |
#18
/ 110
Strong
|
#70
/ 110
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Content & Brand |
#67
/ 124
Strong
|
#118
/ 124
Needs editing
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Frontend & Landing Pages |
#57
/ 109
Needs editing
|
#15
/ 109
Needs editing
|
Grok 4.20 |
| Research & Competitive Analysis |
#15
/ 110
Excellent
|
#52
/ 110
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Training & Education |
#52
/ 110
Excellent
|
#88
/ 110
Strong
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Legal & HR |
#57
/ 110
Excellent
|
#87
/ 110
Strong
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Summarization & Meeting Notes |
#58
/ 110
Excellent
|
#85
/ 110
Excellent
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Presentations & Decks |
#22
/ 110
Excellent
|
#46
/ 110
Excellent
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Structured Output |
#69
/ 113
Strong
|
#48
/ 113
Excellent
|
Grok 4.20 |
| Investor & Pitch |
#39
/ 66
Usable
|
#59
/ 66
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Creative & Comedy | #79 / 110 | #96 / 110 | Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Customer Support |
#57
/ 113
Strong
|
#68
/ 113
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Executive Assistant |
#72
/ 112
Strong
|
#83
/ 112
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| RAG, Safety & Grounding |
#86
/ 113
Excellent
|
#96
/ 113
Strong
|
Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Product & Project Management |
#61
/ 110
Strong
|
#56
/ 110
Strong
|
Grok 4.20 |
Rank = position among every model config we tested in that task area (lower is better). Sorted by biggest gap first.
Frequently asked
Is Claude Sonnet 5 better than Grok 4.20?
Across 22 task areas we benchmarked, Claude Sonnet 5 ranks higher in 19 and Grok 4.20 in 3.
Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 5 or Grok 4.20?
Grok 4.20 costs 3.2× less per token ($3.75 vs $12 per 1M).
What is Claude Sonnet 5 better at?
Claude Sonnet 5 out-ranks Grok 4.20 at Data & Analytics, Coding, Chef / Home Cooking.
What is Grok 4.20 better at?
Grok 4.20 out-ranks Claude Sonnet 5 at Frontend & Landing Pages, Structured Output, Product & Project Management.
More comparisons
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Prompt × model results
12 test cases · 3 evals