Family · Anthropic
Claude Opus
Claude Opus is a model family from Anthropic. We track 4 versions: Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Opus 5, Claude Opus 4.8 and Claude Opus 4.7. Claude Opus 5.5 is the version we would evaluate first, and older versions stay listed so you can compare price and capability before deciding whether to move.
Comparing Claude Opus 5.5 with Claude Opus 4.7: Claude Opus 5.5 is listed at API: $4 in / $20 out per M tokens, while Claude Opus 4.7 is listed at API: $5 in / $25 out per M tokens. Newer versions usually improve reasoning, tool use and price, so unless you depend on the exact behavior of an older model, evaluate the newest version first and keep the older one only as a fallback.
Version comparison
| Version | Pricing | Free tier | Last reviewed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5.5 | API: $4 in / $20 out per M tokens | No | Sep 2026 | Read review → |
| Claude Opus 5 | API: $5 in / $25 out per M tokens | No | Sep 2026 | Read review → |
| Claude Opus 4.8 | API: $5 in / $25 out per M tokens | No | Sep 2026 | Read review → |
| Claude Opus 4.7 | API: $5 in / $25 out per M tokens | No | Sep 2026 | Read review → |
All Claude Opus versions
Claude Opus 5.5, released on 22 September 2026, is Anthropic's newest Opus model. Anthropic reports it performs at the level of Claude Fable 5.1 on most work while costing about 40% less to run than Opus 5, with a focus on agentic coding, computer use and know
Strength: Matches Claude Fable 5.1 on most work at a much lower price Limit: Newest release, so fewer independent long-term evaluations
Claude Opus 5, released in July 2026, was Anthropic's flagship for demanding reasoning, coding and agentic work until Claude Opus 5.5 arrived in September at a lower price. It remains a capable, widely deployed model with a 1M-token context window.
Strength: Very strong reasoning on complex, ambiguous problems Limit: Superseded by Opus 5.5, which is cheaper and faster
Claude Opus 4.8 was Anthropic's flagship before Opus 5 and 5.5. It is still available at $5 and $25 per million tokens and supports fast mode, but new projects will usually get better value from the newer Opus models.
Strength: Proven and well-tested in production Limit: Superseded by Opus 5 and Opus 5.5
Claude Opus 4.7 is an earlier Opus release, priced at $5 and $25 per million tokens. It introduced the newer tokenizer used by later Claude models and remains available, though newer Opus models are the better starting point.
Strength: Strong long-context reasoning Limit: Superseded by Opus 4.8, Opus 5 and Opus 5.5
Frequently asked questions
Which Claude Opus version should I use?
Claude Opus 5.5 is the newest version we treat as current. Claude Opus 5.5, released on 22 September 2026, is Anthropic's newest Opus model.
Are older Claude Opus versions still available?
Many stay available through the vendor API or partner clouds for a while, but newer versions are usually cheaper or stronger. Each older version's page notes what replaced it.
How do Claude Opus versions differ on price?
Claude Opus 5.5: API: $4 in / $20 out per M tokens. Claude Opus 5: API: $5 in / $25 out per M tokens. Claude Opus 4.8: API: $5 in / $25 out per M tokens. Claude Opus 4.7: API: $5 in / $25 out per M tokens.