Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

by Anthropic, PBC

Retired Anthropic model; migrate to Sonnet 4.6/5.

Reviewed August 2026by CBAI Editorial Team
6.0/10

Score

3.0 out of 5 · our score
Compare

Our verdict

Claude 3.5 Sonnet is retired. Treat it as a migration target: map prompts, evaluate tool-call behaviors, and move to Sonnet 4.6/5.

Overview

Claude 3.5 Sonnet is no longer available for use on the Claude API. Anthropic retired the model on October 28, 2025 and recommends migrating workloads to Claude Sonnet 4.6 or newer (now Sonnet 5) according to the official model deprecations page. At launch, 3.5 Sonnet offered a 200K-token context window, strong multimodal (vision) performance, and support for tool use/function calling, and it was distributed via the Anthropic API as well as through Amazon Bedrock and Google C…

Score breakdown

Overall score

6.0/10
Output quality8.0/10
Ease of use7.5/10
Value for money5.5/10
Features & tools7.0/10
Support & docs7.0/10

Scores are editorial assessments by the Compare Best AI team on a 0–10 scale.

Expert review

C

CBAI Editorial Team

Compare Best AI · Editorial Team

As of August 24, 2026, Claude 3.5 Sonnet is a legacy model: Anthropic retired it on October 28, 2025 and directs developers to Claude Sonnet 4.6 or the newer Sonnet 5. If you still reference 3.5 Sonnet in code, you should plan a cutover.

How we tested

0

Tasks evaluated

  • ·Verified current model status and retirement date in Anthropic docs.
  • ·Checked current Claude pricing page for live plan/API details and compliance mentions.
  • ·Reviewed Anthropic 3.5 Sonnet launch post for historical price, context, and availability.
  • ·Validated vision capabilities via the official model card addendum.
  • ·Confirmed tool-use/function-calling documentation in current platform docs.

Method

Source verification from official Anthropic/Claude documentation, pricing, and research pages; no hands-on benchmarking performed.

Reviewer

CBAI Editorial Team

Plans & pricing

Not sold (retired Oct 28, 2025)

Custom

Pricing may vary by region. Always verify on the vendor's website.

Feature comparison

  • 200K-token context window at launch.
  • Multimodal vision understanding (documents, charts, diagrams) with strong benchmark performance.
  • Tool use/function calling via JSON-schema-based APIs (legacy support on 3.x generation; migrate to current Sonnet models).

Is it right for you?

Good fit for

Migration planning

Teams moving legacy 3.5 Sonnet agents/prompts to Sonnet 4.6/5.

Compliance review

Auditors needing a verified record of 3.5 Sonnet’s historical capabilities.

Less suited for

New builds

Start with Sonnet 4.6/5; 3.5 Sonnet is retired and not sold.

User reviews

3.0

Editorial score

5
36%
4
21%
3
12%
2
8%
1
3%

Distribution is estimated from our editorial score. Verified user reviews coming soon.

Use cases

Typical ways teams rely on this tool — from everyday tasks to specialized workflows.

  • Legacy document/diagram Q&A (vision) migration planning.
  • Refactoring code-gen pipelines off 3.5 Sonnet to Sonnet 4.6/5.
  • Archival reproduction of 3.5 outputs for compliance sign-off.

Privacy & compliance

Security & data practices

Highlights we track from the vendor's documentation. Always confirm current terms, subprocessors, and regional policies on their official site.

  • Anthropic states that for commercial offerings (e.g., Anthropic API, Claude for Work) customer inputs/outputs are not used to train models by default
  • Enterprise plans include custom data retention controls and a HIPAA‑ready option
  • Anthropic has SOC 2 Type II.

Details

Category

Developer

Price

  • Not sold (retired Oct 28, 2025)

Free version

No

Best for

Organizations deprecating 3.5 Sonnet to Sonnet 4.6/5 who need verified guidance on status, capabilities, and replacements.

Frequently asked questions

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Developer

Ready to get started?

Visit the Claude 3.5 Sonnet website to explore plans and pricing.

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