Claude Opus 5.5 vs Gemini 4 Argon

$1.34 / task
Wins 2 of 9 benchmarks
$1.99 / task
Wins 3 of 9 benchmarks
Opus 5.552.5
Gemini 4 Argon57.1
Opus 5.557.1
Gemini 4 Argon43.5
Opus 5.5at max1,807
Gemini 4 Argon1,678
Opus 5.559.3
Gemini 4 Argon61.8
Opus 5.543.3
Gemini 4 Argon52.9
Opus 5.5at max72.3
Gemini 4 Argon—
Opus 5.5—
Gemini 4 Argon99.2
Opus 5.5—
Gemini 4 Argon92.2
MirrorCode?
Opus 5.5at max77.4
Gemini 4 Argon—

Specs

SpecOpus 5.5Gemini 4 Argon
Input, per 1M$4!$2
Output, per 1M$20!$10
Cost per task?$1.34$1.99
Speed, tok/s8184
Context1M1M
WeightsClosedClosed
ReleasedSep 2026Oct 2026
See images✓✓
Read PDFs✓✓
Hear audio—✓
Watch video—✓
Call tools✓✓
Force a tool call—Partial
Return strict JSON✓✓
Search the web✓✓
Run code✓✓
Use a computer✓?

What breaks when you switch

Opus 5.5 → Gemini 4 Argon
Synchronous output stops at 65,536›

With background false, output limits above 65,536 tokens return HTTP 400; stay at or below that limit.

Sampling parameters are ignored›

temperature, top_p and top_k are ignored; remove them from requests.

No explicit caching›

Explicit caching is unavailable; omit explicit cache requests.

Gemini 4 Argon → Opus 5.5
No forced tool use›

Forced tool_choice any or tool returns HTTP 400; remove the forced choice.

Thinking is always on›

Disabled thinking or a manual budget returns HTTP 400; omit thinking or use adaptive thinking.

Remove sampling parameters›

Non-default temperature, top_p or top_k returns HTTP 400; omit these parameters and use prompting.

No assistant prefill›

Assistant prefill returns HTTP 400; use structured outputs or system instructions, with system instructions on Bedrock.

Old computer tool rejected · Claude API / Google Cloud›

The computer_20251124 tool returns HTTP 400 on the Claude API and Google Cloud; use computer_toolset_20260801 there.

Return thinking blocks unmodified›

Edited, reordered or partially dropped thinking blocks return HTTP 400; echo assistant messages complete and unmodified with tool results.