Model Comparison
Claude Opus 4.5 vs Nova MicroWhich is better in 2026?
Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Nova Micro is 173.9x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Claude Opus 4.5 vs Nova Micro — which is better?
Claude Opus 4.5 (by Anthropic) and Nova Micro (by Amazon) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.
Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Nova Micro is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Nova Micro is roughly 173.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Claude Opus 4.5 also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Claude Opus 4.5 if…
- 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 Nov 2025
Choose Nova Micro if…
- cost matters — it's about 173.9x cheaper per token
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Nova Micro is better at 0 benchmarks.
Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 166.7x more expensive than Nova Micro ($0.03/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 178.6x more expensive than Nova Micro ($0.14/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.5 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 4.5 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 4.5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Claude Opus 4.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Nova Micro does not.
Claude Opus 4.5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Claude Opus 4.5
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 4.5 was released on 2025-11-24, while Nova Micro was released on 2024-11-20.
Claude Opus 4.5 is 12 months newer than Nova Micro.
Nov 24, 2025
6 months ago
1.0yr newerNov 20, 2024
1.5 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Claude Opus 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-31, while Nova Micro'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 Nova Micro's cutoff date.
Mar 2025
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Provider Availability
Claude Opus 4.5 is available from Anthropic. Nova Micro is available from Bedrock.
Claude Opus 4.5
Nova Micro
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Opus 4.5
View detailsAnthropic
Nova Micro
View detailsAmazon
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4.5 vs Nova Micro.