Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max vs Muse Spark 1.3 Max compared

On paper this is a mismatch: Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback) and Muse Spark 1.3 (Max) are separated by 17.9 points on the intelligence index. The headline gap is on the intelligence index, where Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max scores 54.5 and Muse Spark 1.3 Max 36.6. Everything below is read from the benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's catalogue; nothing here comes from a hands-on test.

Reasoning and overall scores

On the intelligence index, Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max scores 54.5 against 36.6 for Muse Spark 1.3 Max. The difference is large enough that the lower-scoring model has to win on cost or speed to stay in the running. In relative terms, Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max scores 49% higher.

Among 109 active scored models, Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max sits 9th and Muse Spark 1.3 Max 36th.

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

Cost: Muse Spark 1.3 Max is cheaper

Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max lists $2.00 per million input tokens and $10.00 per million output tokens; Muse Spark 1.3 Max lists $1.25 and $4.25. Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max costs 2.4 times as much per output token.

For a sample workload of 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens, Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max would cost $4.00 and Muse Spark 1.3 Max $2.10, a difference of $1.90. For a support assistant answering 10,000 conversations of 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each, Muse Spark 1.3 Max would come in 49% lower: $90.00 for Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max against $46.25 for Muse Spark 1.3 Max. On a 3:1 blend of input to output tokens, that works out to $4.00 versus $2.00 per million.

Cost per point of intelligence

Per point of intelligence index, Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max costs $0.073 of blended price per million tokens and Muse Spark 1.3 Max $0.055. Muse Spark 1.3 Max delivers each index point for 26% less; whether Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max's extra 17.9 points are worth the premium depends on how often your tasks need them.

Speed and latency

Measured output speed is 136 tokens per second for Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max and 140 tokens per second for Muse Spark 1.3 Max. There is little to choose between them on raw output speed. Time to first token is 6.5 minutes for Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max and 36 seconds for Muse Spark 1.3 Max. Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max waits 11 times as long before its first token. Waits that long are felt on every chat-style request, though they matter less for batch jobs.

Add the two numbers up for a 400-token reply and Muse Spark 1.3 Max finishes first: 6.5 minutes for Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max, 39 seconds for Muse Spark 1.3 Max.

Generation gap

Claude Sonnet 5.5 Max arrived on September 28, 2026, 26 days after Muse Spark 1.3 Max (September 2, 2026). That is close enough to count them as the same generation.