• Updated 1 Nov, 10:02 UTC
  • Next run 2 Nov, 05:17 UTCNext 2 Nov 05:17
  • Last 7 days: 4 new models · 81 runs7 d: 4 models · 81 runs
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Beam 1.0 vs Claude Sonnet 5.5

6 prompts both ran·Specs and numbers·Change models

Beam 1.0 took 2 min 35 s and $0.063 at list price, Claude Sonnet 5.5 took 3 min 49 s and $0.34 at list price. Claude Sonnet 5.5 took 1.5× as long and cost 5.4× as much.

Beam 1.0

Reflection AI · $1.00/M out

Claude Sonnet 5.5

Anthropic · $10.00/M out · 9 HN pts

Only Claude Sonnet 5.5 has CLI runs here (Claude Code).

Pelican

Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle

Beam 1.0's SVG for the "Pelican riding a bicycle" prompt

Beam 1.0

16 s$0.0076.7k tokensAPI
Claude Sonnet 5.5's SVG for the "Pelican riding a bicycle" prompt

Claude Sonnet 5.5

12 s$0.0131.3k tokensCLI

Watch

Draw a mechanical wristwatch that shows the current local time, with a sweeping seconds hand and a date window. Make it look expensive.

Still of Beam 1.0's page for the "Wristwatch that shows the current time" prompt

Beam 1.0

30 s$0.01111k tokensAPI
Still of Claude Sonnet 5.5's page for the "Wristwatch that shows the current time" prompt

Claude Sonnet 5.5

42 s$0.0656.5k tokensCLI

Landing

Build the landing page for Lumen Cycles, a Copenhagen workshop that builds custom cargo bikes to order. Make it look like a real brand you would trust with 4,000 euros.

Still of Beam 1.0's page for the "Landing page for a cargo bike workshop" prompt

Beam 1.0

39 s$0.01818k tokensAPI
Still of Claude Sonnet 5.5's page for the "Landing page for a cargo bike workshop" prompt

Claude Sonnet 5.5

1 min 37 s$0.1616k tokensCLI

Breakout

Make a Breakout game I can play right now with the keyboard or the mouse. Give it several levels, a score and some juice.

Still of Beam 1.0's page for the "Playable Breakout" prompt

Beam 1.0

51 s$0.02020k tokensAPI
Still of Claude Sonnet 5.5's page for the "Playable Breakout" prompt

Claude Sonnet 5.5

53 s$0.0838.3k tokensCLI

Design a logo for Night Heron, an independent bookshop that only opens after dark.

Beam 1.0's SVG for the "Bookshop logo" prompt

Beam 1.0

16 s$0.0065.7k tokensAPI
Claude Sonnet 5.5's SVG for the "Bookshop logo" prompt

Claude Sonnet 5.5

17 s$0.0202.0k tokensCLI

About

Write the opening of the About us page for Patchbay, a three-person studio in Rotterdam that repairs vintage synthesizers. About 150 words.

Patchbay is a three-person studio in Rotterdam devoted to repairing vintage synthesizers and keeping electronic instruments alive. We work with analog and digital keyboards, drum machines, and modular systems, restoring worn circuits, replacing fragile components, and returning each machine to reliable musical use. Our small team combines careful technical work with genuine respect for the instruments that shaped decades of music. Whether an instrument needs a routine service, a difficult diagnosis, or a full restoration, we approach it with patience, clear communication, and attention to detail. We believe these machines are not just equipment; they are tools with history, character, and sound worth preserving. Based in Rotterdam, we serve musicians, collectors, and studios who want their gear maintained properly and played again. At Patchbay, every repair is treated as a collaboration between craft and music, ensuring that classic synthesizers continue to inspire new sounds for years to come.

Beam 1.0

4 s$0.0011.3k tokensAPI

Patchbay is three people in a workshop in Rotterdam, trying to keep old synthesizers alive. We repair, restore and recalibrate the instruments that shaped electronic music: Moogs and Oberheims, Rolands and Sequential Circuits, the odd temperamental Soviet oddity that someone found in an attic.

Most of what lands on our benches has been silent for years. A crackling pot, a drifting oscillator, a power supply that gave up in 1994. Some come from working musicians who need their instrument back before the next tour. Others come from people who inherited a dusty box from a parent and want to hear what it sounds like.

We work slowly and by hand. We trace faults with a scope and a schematic, source or rebuild parts when originals are gone, and change as little as we can. Every synth leaves with a note describing exactly what we did, so the next person to open it knows where we have been.

Come by, bring your synth, and stay for coffee.

Claude Sonnet 5.5

7 s$0.005475 tokensCLI

Specs and numbers

Beam 1.0Claude Sonnet 5.5
MakerReflection AIAnthropic
Made inUSUS
Released16 Oct 202628 Sep 2026
Price in, per M tokens$0.25$2.00
Price out, per M tokens$1.00$10.00
Context1,048,576 tokens1,000,000 tokens
Weightsopenclosed
Hacker News points—9
Time for the six prompts2 min 35 s3 min 49 s
List price of the six prompts$0.063$0.34

Beam 1.0 was cheaper: $0.28 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. Beam 1.0 was faster: 73 s less in total, and faster on 5 of the 6 prompts.

In the recording, both Breakout games play.

Rebuild this screen experiment: Claude Sonnet 5.5's rebuild matched the screenshot at 94%; Beam 1.0 was not in it. Tea Garden experiment: Claude Sonnet 5.5's game passed 5 of 5 checks; Beam 1.0 was not in it.

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