Sonar vs Solar Pro 3
Solar Pro 3 leads Sonar on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 7.8 to 7.7, and Solar Pro 3 costs 1.7x less per output token ($0.60 vs $1.00 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 3 benchmarks have a result for both.
Sonar or Solar Pro 3: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Sonar for work measured by AA Intelligence Index or GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.
- Shared results
- 3
- Sonar only
- 2
- Solar Pro 3 only
- 7
- Like-for-like categories
- 2 of 9
Only benchmarks that tested both models count toward a pick; a result only one model has is shown but not compared.
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 Pro 3
Solar Pro 3 leads, 7.8 against 7.7.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Solar Pro 3 has a AA Agentic Index result, 1.4.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Solar Pro 3
Solar Pro 3 takes 131K tokens against 127K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Solar Pro 3
Sonar $0.0015, Solar Pro 3 $0.0004 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Sonar not benchmarked, Solar Pro 3 not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Reasoning, 15.3 points apart on average over 2 shared benchmarks.
- Widest single gap
- GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run): Sonar 47.1% against Solar Pro 3 72.4%, 25.3 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Sonar $1.00 against Solar Pro 3 $0.60 per million output tokens, 1.7x apart.
- Context window
- Sonar takes 127K tokens, Solar Pro 3 131K.
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 Pro 3 | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 2 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 3 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 16.2 | Only Solar Pro 3 measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 29.5% | Not measured | Only Sonar measured |
| SciCode | Not measured | 25.5% | Only Solar Pro 3 measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 7.6% | Only Solar Pro 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 34 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 7.7 | 7.8 | Solar Pro 3 |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | Not measured | 1.4 | Only Solar Pro 3 measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 86.3% | Only Solar Pro 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 37 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index02
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 47.1% | 72.4% | Solar Pro 3 |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 4.9% | 10.3% | Solar Pro 3 |
| 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 Pro 3 | 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 Pro 3 | 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 designNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 9 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | Not measured | 71.2% | Only Solar Pro 3 measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 32.3% | Only Solar Pro 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 44 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Sonar | Solar Pro 3 | 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 Pro 3 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Solar Pro 3 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Solar Pro 3 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 Pro 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Perplexity | Upstage |
| Weights | No public weights listed | No public weights listed |
| Released | January 27, 2025 | January 27, 2026 |
| Context window | 127K | 131K |
| Input $/Mtok | $1.00 | $0.15 |
| Output $/Mtok | $1.00 | $0.60 |
| 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 Pro 3 for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Sonar for work measured by AA Intelligence Index or GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Sonar or Solar Pro 3?
Sonar costs $1.00 per million input tokens and $1.00 per million output tokens; Solar Pro 3 costs $0.15 and $0.60. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Sonar or Solar Pro 3?
Solar Pro 3, with 131K tokens against 127K.
How many benchmarks is the Sonar vs Solar Pro 3 comparison based on?
3 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Sonar's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Solar Pro 3's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.