Claude Opus 5 Max vs Gemini 4 Argon compared

Gemini 4 Argon leads the intelligence index 50.4 to 44.2. Gemini 4 Argon costs 20% less on blended price. See token costs, speed and which to pick.

Metric	Claude Opus 5 (Max)	Gemini 4 Argon (High)
Intelligence Index	44.2	50.4
Input price (per 1M tokens)	$5.00	$4.00
Output price (per 1M tokens)	$25.00	$20.00
Output speed (tokens/s)	50	89
Time to first token	62s	51s
Release date	2026-07-24	2026-09-30

Metric

Claude Opus 5 (Max)

Gemini 4 Argon (High)

Intelligence Index

44.2

50.4

Input price (per 1M tokens)

$5.00

$4.00

Output price (per 1M tokens)

$25.00

$20.00

Output speed (tokens/s)

Time to first token

62s

51s

Release date

2026-07-24

2026-09-30

Choosing between Claude Opus 5 (Max) and Gemini 4 Argon (High) also means choosing between Anthropic and Google. The figures come from tracked catalogue data, not from our own testing, so treat them as a starting point for a trial on your tasks. Their widest difference is the intelligence index, with Gemini 4 Argon ahead by 6.2 points (50.4 versus 44.2).

Gemini 4 Argon leads on the intelligence index

On the intelligence index, Claude Opus 5 Max scores 44.2 against 50.4 for Gemini 4 Argon. That is a clear margin for an index that averages many evaluations. In relative terms, Gemini 4 Argon scores 14% higher.

Among 109 active scored models, Claude Opus 5 Max sits 26th and Gemini 4 Argon 15th.

For coding or maths work specifically, the catalogue has no dedicated index on either side yet.

Cost: Gemini 4 Argon is cheaper

Per million tokens, Claude Opus 5 Max charges $5.00 for input and $25.00 for output, while Gemini 4 Argon charges $4.00 and $20.00. That makes Gemini 4 Argon's output 20% cheaper.

Take 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens: that comes to $10.00 on Claude Opus 5 Max and $8.00 on Gemini 4 Argon. Scale it up to classifying 100,000 short messages at 150 input tokens and 5 output tokens each and the bill is $87.50 for Claude Opus 5 Max against $70.00 for Gemini 4 Argon. Blended at three input tokens per output token, the effective rates are $10.00 for Claude Opus 5 Max and $8.00 for Gemini 4 Argon.

Waiting time

Once a response is under way, Claude Opus 5 Max produces roughly 50 tokens per second against 89 tokens per second for Gemini 4 Argon. Gemini 4 Argon is ahead by 79% on throughput. Before any text appears, Claude Opus 5 Max takes 62 seconds and Gemini 4 Argon 51 seconds. Gemini 4 Argon gets to its first token 1.2 times as fast. A first-token wait of that length suits background work better than live conversation.

Add the two numbers up for a 600-token reply and Gemini 4 Argon finishes first: 74 seconds for Claude Opus 5 Max, 58 seconds for Gemini 4 Argon.

Is the price in proportion?

Dividing the blended price by the intelligence index gives a rough cost per point: $0.23 for Claude Opus 5 Max and $0.16 for Gemini 4 Argon, per million tokens. With the higher score and the lower cost per point, Gemini 4 Argon is the better value per point on these numbers.

When they came out

Claude Opus 5 Max came first, on July 24, 2026; Gemini 4 Argon followed on September 30, 2026.

FAQ

Is Claude Opus 5 Max better than Gemini 4 Argon?

Gemini 4 Argon leads on every measure the catalogue separates: Gemini 4 Argon scores higher on the intelligence index, 50.4 to 44.2; Gemini 4 Argon is 20% cheaper on blended price; and Gemini 4 Argon streams output 1.8 times as fast.

Was this comparison tested by hand?

The figures are the recorded benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's model catalogue. This page is written from that data automatically; neither model was tested by hand for it.

Are Claude Opus 5 Max and Gemini 4 Argon from the same company?

Claude Opus 5 Max is made by Anthropic and Gemini 4 Argon by Google. Claude Opus 5 Max was released on July 24, 2026 and Gemini 4 Argon on September 30, 2026.

Does Claude Opus 5 Max respond faster than Gemini 4 Argon?

Gemini 4 Argon generates output faster, at 89 tokens per second against 50 tokens per second. Gemini 4 Argon reaches its first token sooner (51 seconds against 62 seconds).

How much do Claude Opus 5 Max and Gemini 4 Argon cost?

Gemini 4 Argon is cheaper on a blended basis. Claude Opus 5 Max lists $5.00 per million input tokens and $25.00 per million output tokens; Gemini 4 Argon lists $4.00 and $20.00. For 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens that is $10.00 against $8.00.

Final whistle

Short answer: Gemini 4 Argon wins every category the data separates; Claude Opus 5 Max would need an advantage that is not in the catalogue. Pick Gemini 4 Argon if you need the higher overall score (50.4 against 44.2) and long outputs need to finish quickly. Pick Claude Opus 5 Max only if your own tests show an advantage the recorded data does not.

Where the numbers come from

The scores, speed and prices in this comparison come from independent third-party model evaluations that Franklin AI syncs each day, and the article was written from a snapshot of them. For the latest results, open the Claude Opus 5 (Max) and Gemini 4 Argon (High) pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.