Gemini 4 Argon vs Claude Fable 5.1
Gemini 4 Argon scores higher on the Models at Work leaderboard (85 vs 80 out of 100). Gemini 4 Argon is about 10× cheaper per blended million tokens ($1.99 vs $20, one figure an Artificial Analysis estimate).
| Gemini 4 Argon · Google | Claude Fable 5.1 · Anthropic | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaderboard rank | #3 | #6 |
| Score (0–100) | 85 | 80 |
| Tier | Frontier | Frontier |
| Price per 1M tokens | $1.99 blended (estimate) | $10 in · $50 out |
| Context window | 1M | 1M |
| Open weights | No | No |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index | 53 | 53 |
| Arena text score | 1525 | 1501 |
| Humanity's Last Exam, Diamond (Scale) | — | 51.3 |
| Best for | Chat and assistant products, Google Cloud shops, Price-sensitive frontier work | Long-horizon agents, Problems Opus fails on, Demanding reasoning |
Choose Gemini 4 Argon if…
- you need chat and assistant products
- you need google cloud shops
- you need price-sensitive frontier work
Wins the popularity contest: first on Arena, mid-pack on the index, and priced like a workhorse.
Caveats: Google's public pricing page did not list Argon when read; the blended figure is Artificial Analysis' estimate.
Choose Claude Fable 5.1 if…
- you need long-horizon agents
- you need problems opus fails on
- you need demanding reasoning
The specialist: Anthropic's own docs say to reach for it when Opus 5.5 at high effort still falls short, and the price says the same.
Caveats: Ten dollars per million input is the highest in this table alongside Astra.
What practitioners say
Gemini 4 Argon: The announcement thread ran to 1,190 comments; the independent analysis thread was smaller and more measured.
Questions people ask
Which is better, Gemini 4 Argon or Claude Fable 5.1?
Gemini 4 Argon scores higher on the Models at Work leaderboard (85 vs 80 out of 100). Gemini 4 Argon is about 10× cheaper per blended million tokens ($1.99 vs $20, one figure an Artificial Analysis estimate).
When should I choose Gemini 4 Argon over Claude Fable 5.1?
Choose Gemini 4 Argon for chat and assistant products, google cloud shops, price-sensitive frontier work. Wins the popularity contest: first on Arena, mid-pack on the index, and priced like a workhorse.
When should I choose Claude Fable 5.1 over Gemini 4 Argon?
Choose Claude Fable 5.1 for long-horizon agents, problems opus fails on, demanding reasoning. The specialist: Anthropic's own docs say to reach for it when Opus 5.5 at high effort still falls short, and the price says the same.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 4 Argon or Claude Fable 5.1?
Google does not publish a simple list price for Gemini 4 Argon; Artificial Analysis estimates a blended $1.99 per million tokens (three input to one output). Claude Fable 5.1 costs $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens on Anthropic's list price (Claude pricing, read Oct 10, 2026).
Scores come from the Models at Work leaderboard: Score is 0 to 100: 50% independent evals normalised within this table, 20% price-performance, 15% practitioner sentiment from Signals and community threads, 15% operational fit (context, speed, availability, open weights). Models within three points are a tie in practice. Vendor-published figures are labelled as such and never counted as independent. Prices are vendor list prices where published; blended figures assume three input tokens per output token.