Claude Opus 4 vs Claude Opus 4.5
Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.5 is 3.0x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · Anthropic · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Claude Opus 4 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Claude Opus 4.5 is better at 5 benchmarks (ARC-AGI v2, GPQA, MMMLU, MMMU (validation), SWE-Bench Verified). Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Claude Opus 4.5 is roughly 3.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude Opus 4
- you want predictable pricing at $15.00/M input and $75.00/M output
Choose Claude Opus 4.5
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 5 shared benchmarks
- cost matters — it's about 3.0x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2025
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Opus 4 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Claude Opus 4.5 is better at 5 benchmarks (ARC-AGI v2, GPQA, MMMLU, MMMU (validation), SWE-Bench Verified).
Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 4 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 3.0x more expensive than Claude Opus 4.5 ($5.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4 ($75.00/1M tokens) is 3.0x more expensive than Claude Opus 4.5 ($25.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4 is more expensive than Claude Opus 4.5.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 200,000 tokens. Claude Opus 4.5 can generate longer responses up to 64,000 tokens, while Claude Opus 4 is limited to 32,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Claude Opus 4 and Claude Opus 4.5 support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Opus 4
Claude Opus 4.5
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.
Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.
Proprietary
Closed source
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Opus 4 was released on 2025-05-22, while Claude Opus 4.5 was released on 2025-11-24.
Claude Opus 4.5 is 6 months newer than Claude Opus 4.
May 22, 2025
1.3 years ago
Nov 24, 2025
9 months ago
6mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Claude Opus 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-31, while Claude Opus 4's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Claude Opus 4.5's training data extends to 2025-03-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude Opus 4's cutoff date.
—
Mar 2025
Provider Availability
Claude Opus 4 is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. Claude Opus 4.5 is available from Anthropic.
Claude Opus 4
Claude Opus 4.5
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 4 and Claude Opus 4.5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4 vs Claude Opus 4.5.