Sonar vs Hy4 preview
At a Glance
| Compare |  SonarPerplexity |  Hy4 previewTencent |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $1.00Openrouter ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $0.834Openrouter ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $1.00Openrouter ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $2.501Openrouter ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 128K | 1,000K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 29, 2026View model evidence → | Sep 2, 2026View model evidence → |
Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →
Available Benchmarks
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | Sonar | Hy4 preview |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Perplexity | Tencent |
| Family | Sonar | Hy4 |
| Model | Sonar | Hy4 preview |
| Version | Sonar | Hy4 preview |
| Lifecycle | active | preview |
| Released | Unknown | 2026-08-28 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text | Text |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 128K | 1,000K |
| Total parameters | Unknown | 770B |
| Active parameters | Unknown | 49B |
| License | Unknown | apache-2.0 |
| Open weights | No | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes |
| Provider access | Openrouter (Standard), Perplexity (Standard) | Openrouter (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, citations, search | chat, generation, reasoning, tools |
Sonar Capabilities
Hy4 preview Capabilities
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Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Sonar vs Hy4 preview FAQs
Is Sonar or Hy4 preview better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Sonar and Hy4 preview, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Sonar or Hy4 preview?+
Sonar is $1.00 and Hy4 preview is $0.834 per million tokens, so Hy4 preview is cheaper on this metric. Sonar is $1.00 and Hy4 preview is $2.501 per million tokens, so Sonar is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, Sonar or Hy4 preview?+
Hy4 preview has the larger sourced context window. Sonar supports 128K and Hy4 preview supports 1,000K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Sonar or Hy4 preview?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can Sonar or Hy4 preview be self-hosted?+
Hy4 preview is the only model in this pair currently marked as self-hostable. Sonar is not marked open weight; Hy4 preview is open weight.
Can Sonar and Hy4 preview understand images?+
Sonar is not documented with image input; Hy4 preview is not documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Sonar or Hy4 preview?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. Sonar is — and Hy4 preview is —.
Do Sonar and Hy4 preview support reasoning and tool use?+
Sonar: none of these features are definitively sourced. Hy4 preview: reasoning and tool calling. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Sonar or Hy4 preview?+
Sonar has 2 sourced provider routes; Hy4 preview has 1, so Sonar has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Sonar or Hy4 preview?+
There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.