Claude Opus 5 vs Claude Sonnet 5: API pricing comparison
Anthropic Claude Opus 5 vs Anthropic Claude Sonnet 5: token prices, batch and cache rates, Arena ELO, and cost per request for 8 business use cases. Prices in USD per 1 million tokens. Data snapshot: 2026-11-12.
Claude Opus 5 vs Claude Sonnet 5: the short version
At the prices we quote, Claude Sonnet 5 costs less than Claude Opus 5 on input and on output: $2.00 against $5.00 per 1M input tokens (60% less), and $10.00 against $25.00 per 1M output tokens (60% less). With the Support Ticket profile (1,500 input and 500 output tokens per request), 1,000 requests cost $20.00 on Claude Opus 5 and $8.00 on Claude Sonnet 5 at list price, 60% less on Claude Sonnet 5. On Arena ELO, Claude Opus 5 scores 1502 and Claude Sonnet 5 scores 1442, 60 points apart (scores as of 2026-11-08). The context window is 1M tokens on both. Both are recorded here as proprietary, with access through an API. Prices as quoted on 2026-11-12. Each price is the list price of one host, the one we quote for that model. A model sold by several hosts has other prices, listed on its model page.
Claude Opus 5 pricing (Anthropic)
- Input: $5.00 per 1M tokens
- Output: $25.00 per 1M tokens
- Batch API (input/output): $2.50 / $12.50
- Prompt-cache read: $0.50
- Context window: 1M
- Arena ELO: 1502 (as of 2026-11-08)
- Full Claude Opus 5 pricing page
Claude Sonnet 5 pricing (Anthropic)
- Input: $2.00 per 1M tokens
- Output: $10.00 per 1M tokens
- Batch API (input/output): $1.00 / $5.00
- Prompt-cache read: $0.20
- Context window: 1M
- Arena ELO: 1442 (as of 2026-11-08)
- Full Claude Sonnet 5 pricing page
Cost per 1,000 requests by business use case
List price vs after discounts (prompt caching on the cached input share, batch API for async workloads, only where the provider publishes those rates).
| Use case | Tokens (in/out) | Claude Opus 5 list price | Claude Opus 5 after discounts | Claude Sonnet 5 list price | Claude Sonnet 5 after discounts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support Ticket | 1,500 / 500 | $20.00 | $16.18 | $8.00 | $6.47 |
| Knowledge Q&A | 2,000 / 800 | $30.00 | $24.05 | $12.00 | $9.62 |
| Meeting Summary | 10,000 / 1,200 | $80.00 | $38.75 | $32.00 | $15.50 |
| Marketing Content | 2,500 / 1,800 | $57.50 | $55.37 | $23.00 | $22.15 |
| Coding Task | 3,000 / 2,000 | $65.00 | $58.63 | $26.00 | $23.45 |
| Invoice Processing | 1,500 / 600 | $22.50 | $10.69 | $9.00 | $4.27 |
| Call Summary | 2,000 / 700 | $27.50 | $13.50 | $11.00 | $5.40 |
| Agent Workflow | 6,000 / 3,000 | $105.00 | $87.15 | $42.00 | $34.86 |
Common questions about Claude Opus 5 vs Claude Sonnet 5
- Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 5 or Claude Sonnet 5?
- At the prices we quote, Claude Sonnet 5 costs less than Claude Opus 5 on input and on output: $2.00 against $5.00 per 1M input tokens (60% less), and $10.00 against $25.00 per 1M output tokens (60% less). Prices as quoted on 2026-11-12. Each price is the list price of one host, the one we quote for that model. A model sold by several hosts has other prices, listed on its model page.
- What do 1,000 Support Ticket requests cost on Claude Opus 5 and on Claude Sonnet 5?
- With the Support Ticket profile (1,500 input and 500 output tokens per request), 1,000 requests cost $20.00 on Claude Opus 5 and $8.00 on Claude Sonnet 5 at list price, 60% less on Claude Sonnet 5. Prices as quoted on 2026-11-12.
- How do Claude Opus 5 and Claude Sonnet 5 compare on Arena score, context window and licence?
- On Arena ELO, Claude Opus 5 scores 1502 and Claude Sonnet 5 scores 1442, 60 points apart (scores as of 2026-11-08). The context window is 1M tokens on both. Both are recorded here as proprietary, with access through an API.
Open this comparison in the interactive compare tool: add up to two more models, copy a shareable link, or export the table as CSV.
These are list prices: real cost also depends on caching, batching, negotiated discounts, marketplace agreements, and existing contracts. Get a FinOps review from OptimNow or compare all models.