Claude Opus 4 vs Nova Micro
Claude Opus 4 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Nova Micro is 521.7x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · Amazon · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Claude Opus 4 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Nova Micro is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Opus 4 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Nova Micro is roughly 521.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Claude Opus 4 also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude Opus 4
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped May 2025
Choose Nova Micro
- cost matters — it's about 521.7x cheaper per token
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Opus 4 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Nova Micro is better at 0 benchmarks.
Claude Opus 4 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 500.0x more expensive than Nova Micro ($0.03/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4 ($75.00/1M tokens) is 535.7x more expensive than Nova Micro ($0.14/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4 is more expensive than Nova Micro.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Claude Opus 4 accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to Nova Micro's 128,000 tokens. Nova Micro can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Claude Opus 4 is limited to 32,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Claude Opus 4 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Nova Micro does not.
Claude Opus 4 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Claude Opus 4
Nova Micro
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 Nova Micro was released on 2024-11-20.
Claude Opus 4 is 6 months newer than Nova Micro.
May 22, 2025
1.3 years ago
6mo newerNov 20, 2024
1.8 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Claude Opus 4 is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. Nova Micro is available from Bedrock.
Claude Opus 4
Nova Micro
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 4 and Nova Micro side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4 vs Nova Micro.