Provided are a rubber composition achieving balanced improvements in fuel economy, wet-grip performance, abrasion resistance, and handling stability, and a pneumatic tire including the composition. The rubber composition includes a rubber component including at least 95% by mass of conjugated diene polymers having a Tg of −75-0° C. and a Mw of 1.5×105-1.5×106, the rubber component (100% by mass) including 5-65% by mass of SBR (A) having a styrene content of at least 5% by mass but less than 15% by mass and a vinyl bond content of 10-70 mol %, and 20-75% by mass of SBR (B) having a styrene content of at least 15% by mass but less than 30% by mass and a vinyl bond content of 10-70 mol %, the composition including, per 100 parts by mass of the rubber component, 1-30 parts by mass of a low-molecular-weight conjugated diene polymer having a Tg of −75-0° C. and a Mw of at least 1.0×103 but less than 1.5×105, and 10-150 parts by mass of silica having a N2SA of 40-400 m2/g, the composition having a tan δ peak temperature of at least −20° C.