Sonar vs Solar Mini 4
Updated October 21, 2026. 2 benchmarks have a result for both. Coding is ranked on the Vibe Coding Index; every other board is shown as published.
Decision reading
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Sonar has the edge where what matters is AA Intelligence Index or Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.
- Shared results
- 2
- Sonar only
- 3
- Solar Mini 4 only
- 5
- Like-for-like categories
- 2 of 9
Shared results can support a head-to-head reading. Results only one model has describe coverage, not superiority.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Solar Mini 4
Solar Mini 4 leads, 24.1 against 7.7.
Same board, both measured
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Solar Mini 4 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1160.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Solar Mini 4
Solar Mini 4 takes 524K tokens against 127K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Solar Mini 4
Sonar $0.0015, Solar Mini 4 $0.0001 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Sonar not benchmarked, Solar Mini 4 not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Reasoning, 20.9 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run): Sonar 4.9% against Solar Mini 4 25.8%, 20.9 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Sonar $1.00 against Solar Mini 4 $0.20 per million output tokens, 5.0x apart.
- Context window
- Sonar takes 127K tokens, Solar Mini 4 524K.
Benchmark by benchmark
First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.
| Category | Sonar | Bars | Solar Mini 4 | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 2 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 29.5% | Not measured | Only Sonar measured |
| SciCode | Not measured | 47.6% | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 36 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 7.7 | 24.1 | Solar Mini 4 |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 39 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 47.1% | Not measured | Only Sonar measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 4.9% | 25.8% | Solar Mini 4 |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
MathNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 13 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 68.9% | Not measured | Only Sonar measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1160 | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | Not measured | 1113 | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | Not measured | 1153 | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 83.3% | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 45 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 5 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Solar Mini 4 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Solar Mini 4 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Solar Mini 4 costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | Perplexity Sonar | Upstage Solar Mini 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Perplexity | Upstage |
| Weights | No public weights listed | No public weights listed |
| Released | January 27, 2025 | September 23, 2026 |
| Context window | 127K | 524K |
| Input $/Mtok | $1.00 | $0.05 |
| Output $/Mtok | $1.00 | $0.20 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Sonar better than Solar Mini 4 for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Sonar has the edge where what matters is AA Intelligence Index or Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Sonar or Solar Mini 4?
Sonar costs $1.00 per million input tokens and $1.00 per million output tokens; Solar Mini 4 costs $0.05 and $0.20. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Sonar or Solar Mini 4?
Solar Mini 4, with 524K tokens against 127K.
How many benchmarks is the Sonar vs Solar Mini 4 comparison based on?
2 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Sonar's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Solar Mini 4's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.