Claude 5.5 vs Solar Mini4
Wins 3 of 5 areas
Coding · Agents · Reasoning
Wins 1 of 5 areas
Long documents
Claude 5.5 is the stronger all-rounder.Solar Mini4 is cheaper and better at long documents.
Scores updated · 10 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the five areas where both have results. Each piece is one test, so a longer bar means more evidence; grey means the two scored within a point of each other.
- AgentsCarrying out multi-step tasks on its own20Claude 5.52 of 2 tests
- ReasoningHard problems that need careful thinking20Claude 5.52 of 2 tests
- CodingWriting and fixing software10Claude 5.51 of 1 test
- Long documentsFinding answers in very long texts01Solar Mini41 of 1 test
- FactsGetting facts right instead of making them up11Even1 each
Coding and long documents rest on a single test each.
What it costs
Prices per million tokens, roughly 750,000 words. The bars show the cost of a million tokens read plus a million written.
Solar Mini4 costs 96% less for the same work.
The biggest differences
The tests each model wins by the widest margin, up to three each. Scores are out of 100.
Where Claude 5.5 pulls ahead
- Complex command-line tasks across many fieldsTerminal-Bench 4.0+28.8points ahead
- Answers hard knowledge questions correctlyAA-Omniscience · Accuracy+28.8points ahead
- Research-level physics problemsCritPt+15.5points ahead
Where Solar Mini4 pulls ahead
- Avoids making up answers it doesn't knowAA-Omniscience · Non-hallucination+15.4points ahead
- Reasons across sets of long documentsAA-LCR+7points ahead
Every test, side by side
All 10 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
AgentsClaude 5.5
- Terminal-Bench 4.0Claude 5.5 by 28.829.81+28.8
- GDPValClaude 5.5 by 11.741.229.5+11.7
ReasoningClaude 5.5
- CritPtClaude 5.5 by 15.516.91.4+15.5
- Humanity's Last ExamClaude 5.5 by 1439.825.8+14
FactsEven
- AA-Omniscience · AccuracyClaude 5.5 by 28.847.218.4+28.8
- AA-Omniscience · Non-hallucinationSolar Mini4 by 15.448.864.2+15.4
Other results2 tests, not counted
Tests outside the eight areas. They are not counted above: several are summary scores built from other tests, or the same test under another name.
- AA-OmniscienceClaude 5.5 by 30.920.1-10.8+30.9
- AA IntelligenceClaude 5.5 by 16.740.824.1+16.7
Questions people ask
Which is better, Claude 5.5 or Solar Mini4?
Claude 5.5 wins three of the five areas where both have results: coding, agents and reasoning. Solar Mini4 wins long documents, and costs 96% less. They are level on facts.
Which is better for coding?
Claude 5.5. It wins the one coding test both models report.
Which is cheaper?
Claude 5.5 costs $2.00 per million input tokens and $10.00 per million output tokens; Solar Mini4 costs $0.10 and $0.40. That makes Solar Mini4 about 96% cheaper for the same work.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 10 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 8 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 2 are listed but not counted, because several are summary scores or repeat a test. Each score is the one shown on the model's own page.