Claude Opus 5.5 vs Gemini 4 Argon
At 10,000 requests a month of 5,000 input and 500 output tokens, Gemini 4 Argon costs about $150 a month and Claude Opus 5.5 about $390, so Gemini 4 Argon is 62% cheaper. Google lists a new price for Gemini 4 Argon from Dec 1, 2026: $4.00 in and $20 out. Claude Opus 5.5 has a context window of 1,000,000 tokens and Gemini 4 Argon has 1,048,576 tokens. Claude Opus 5.5 has no announced retirement. Anthropic says it will not retire it before Sep 22, 2027. Gemini 4 Argon has no announced retirement. Prices checked 2026-10-21.
Prices are USD per 1M tokens, standard tier, checked 2026-10-21. Monthly cost uses the workload below.
Claude Opus 5.5 Anthropic
- Input per 1M
- $4.00
- Output per 1M
- $20
- Monthly cost
- $390
- $39 per 1,000 requests
- Context
- 1M
- Retirement
- Active
- Anthropic says not retired before Sep 22, 2027
- API ID:
- claude-opus-5-5
- Max output:
- 128K
- Inputs:
- Text, Images
- Released:
- Sep 22, 2026
- Knowledge cutoff:
- Jun 2026
Gemini 4 Argon Google
- Input per 1M
- $2.00
- Output per 1M
- $10
- Monthly cost
- $150Cheapest
- $15 per 1,000 requests
- Context
- 1,048,576
- Retirement
- Active
- No retirement date listed
- API ID:
- gemini-4-argon
- Max output:
- 65,536
- Inputs:
- Text, Images, Video, Audio, PDF
- Released:
- Not published
- Knowledge cutoff:
- Not published
- From Dec 1, 2026:
- $4.00 in, $20 out
| Model | Input per 1M | Output per 1M | Monthly cost | Retirement | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5.5 Anthropic | $4.00 | $20 | $390 $39 per 1,000 requests | Active Anthropic says not retired before Sep 22, 2027 | 1M |
| API ID: claude-opus-5-5Max output: 128KInputs: Text, ImagesReleased: Sep 22, 2026Knowledge cutoff: Jun 2026 | |||||
| Gemini 4 Argon Google | $2.00 | $10 | $150Cheapest $15 per 1,000 requests | Active No retirement date listed | 1,048,576 |
| API ID: gemini-4-argonMax output: 65,536Inputs: Text, Images, Video, Audio, PDFReleased: Not publishedKnowledge cutoff: Not publishedFrom Dec 1, 2026: $4.00 in, $20 out | |||||
Monthly cost estimate
Example sizes are our round numbers. Set your own below.
Claude Opus 5.5 $390 a month
$39 per 1,000 requests
Gemini 4 Argon Cheapest $150 a month
$15 per 1,000 requests
List prices checked 2026-10-21, standard tier, no caching, no batch discount. Claude 4.7 and later count about 30% more tokens for the same text, so their rows include that. Long-prompt prices apply where the vendor sets them.
The facts side by side
Each model page lists every fact with its source: Claude Opus 5.5 and Gemini 4 Argon.
Prices are USD per 1M tokens, standard tier. Monthly cost is 10,000 requests of 5,000 input and 500 output tokens. Checked 2026-10-21 on each vendor's own pages.
Claude Opus 5.5 Anthropic
- Input per 1M
- $4.00
- Output per 1M
- $20
- Monthly cost
- $390
- $39 per 1,000 requests
- Context
- 1M
- Retirement
- Active
- Anthropic says not retired before Sep 22, 2027
- API ID:
- claude-opus-5-5
- Max output:
- 128K
- Inputs:
- Text, Images
- Released:
- Sep 22, 2026
- Knowledge cutoff:
- Jun 2026
Gemini 4 Argon Google
- Input per 1M
- $2.00
- Output per 1M
- $10
- Monthly cost
- $150Cheapest
- $15 per 1,000 requests
- Context
- 1,048,576
- Retirement
- Active
- No retirement date listed
- API ID:
- gemini-4-argon
- Max output:
- 65,536
- Inputs:
- Text, Images, Video, Audio, PDF
- Released:
- Not published
- Knowledge cutoff:
- Not published
- From Dec 1, 2026:
- $4.00 in, $20 out
| Model | Input per 1M | Output per 1M | Monthly cost | Retirement | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5.5 Anthropic | $4.00 | $20 | $390 $39 per 1,000 requests | Active Anthropic says not retired before Sep 22, 2027 | 1M |
| API ID: claude-opus-5-5Max output: 128KInputs: Text, ImagesReleased: Sep 22, 2026Knowledge cutoff: Jun 2026 | |||||
| Gemini 4 Argon Google | $2.00 | $10 | $150Cheapest $15 per 1,000 requests | Active No retirement date listed | 1,048,576 |
| API ID: gemini-4-argonMax output: 65,536Inputs: Text, Images, Video, Audio, PDFReleased: Not publishedKnowledge cutoff: Not publishedFrom Dec 1, 2026: $4.00 in, $20 out | |||||
Benchmark scores side by side
Independent scores from Epoch AI, which scores every vendor's models the same way. Ranks compare each model with the others on our AI models page.
| Benchmark | Claude Opus 5.5 | Gemini 4 Argon |
|---|---|---|
| Epoch Capabilities Index One score that combines many benchmarks, such as math, science, and coding tests, into a single scale. Epoch sets Claude 3.5 Sonnet at 130 and GPT-5 at 150. | 168.83 Rank 1 of 17 models here | 166.45 Rank 5 of 17 models here |
| GPQA Diamond 198 hard multiple-choice questions in biology, chemistry, and physics, written by PhD-level experts. Guessing scores 25%. We show the highest score for each model across the reasoning settings Epoch ran. | 90.6% Rank 10 of 16 models here | 96.4% Rank 1 of 16 models here |
Scores are Epoch AI's, not ours. Source: Epoch AI, Capabilities and benchmarking, from its public data download, checked 2026-10-21. Used under CC BY 4.0. We drew the charts. A benchmark is one test, so run your own inputs before you choose.
What each vendor says
"For long-running agentic coding and knowledge work"
"Our flagship reasoning model with a unified 1M context window and long decodes up to 1M tokens."
Want a different pair? Use the AI model compare tool, or get a shortlist for your job from the AI model picker. For older models with shutdown dates, see our AI model retirement dates calendar.
Questions clients ask
Short answers, no sales language. If yours isn't here, ask an engineer directly.
Ask us anythingWhich is cheaper, Claude Opus 5.5 or Gemini 4 Argon?
Claude Opus 5.5 lists $4.00 in and $20 out per 1M tokens. Gemini 4 Argon lists $2.00 in and $10 out per 1M tokens. At 10,000 requests a month of 5,000 input and 500 output tokens, Claude Opus 5.5 costs about $390 a month and Gemini 4 Argon about $150. The monthly figures add about 30% to Claude 4.7 and later rows, because Anthropic says they count more tokens for the same text. Checked 2026-10-21.
Which has the larger context window?
Claude Opus 5.5: 1,000,000 tokens. Gemini 4 Argon: 1,048,576 tokens.
Is either model being retired?
Claude Opus 5.5 has no announced retirement. Anthropic says it will not retire it before Sep 22, 2027. Gemini 4 Argon has no announced retirement.
Which should I use?
Run 20 to 50 of your real inputs through both and compare the answers and the token counts. Price per token is only half of the cost. The other half is how many tokens each model uses for your task.
Want both tested on your data?
Send us 20 real inputs. An engineer runs them through both models and replies with the results. We bill hourly or by milestone.