Choose Claude Sonnet 5 When
- $2 input and $10 output per million tokens, 60% below Claude Opus 5
- The same 1M context, 128K output, and text, image, and PDF inputs
- A 71.5 Coding Index at the lower-cost Sonnet tier
Claude Sonnet 5 vs Claude Opus 5
Claude Sonnet 5 from Anthropic and Claude Opus 5 from Anthropic are shown side by side so you can compare pricing, model IDs, context and output limits, modalities, tool use, release details, and benchmark results where data is available.
Overall Recommendation
Claude Opus 5 is the stronger capability default, with a 60.7 Intelligence Index and 78.0 Coding Index versus 53.4 and 71.5 for Sonnet 5. Choose Sonnet 5 when 60% lower token prices matter more than the Opus capability lead.
Recommendation based on Claude Sonnet 5 (Non-reasoning, High Effort) vs Claude Opus 5 (Adaptive Reasoning, Max Effort).
Comparison Highlights
Claude Sonnet 5Anthropic
Claude Opus 5Anthropic
Best For
Balanced production codinghigh-volume agentscost control
Frontier codingdemanding reasoninglong-horizon professional agents
How To Read ItUse-case synthesis from model capabilities and positioning.
Workload Fit
BalanceProductionValue
CapabilityAutonomyHard tasks
How To Read ItThe workloads each model is most directly shaped for.
Input
$2/MEdge
$5/M
How To Read ItLower is better when prompts or retrieval payloads are large.
Output
$10/MEdge
$25/M
How To Read ItLower is better for reasoning-heavy or long-generation traffic.
Context length
1M
1M
How To Read ItHigher is better for repositories, retrieval packs, and transcripts.
Input modalities
Text, Image, PDF
Text, Image, PDF
How To Read ItBroader input support reduces the need for separate vision or video models.
Model Selection Guide
Choose Claude Opus 5 When
- A 60.7 Intelligence Index and 78.0 Coding Index, versus 53.4 and 71.5
- A 93.2 GPQA score and 52.6 HLE score at maximum effort
- Stronger positioning for the most demanding software and agent workloads
Basic Information
Claude Sonnet 5Anthropic
Claude Opus 5Anthropic
Name
Claude Sonnet 5Claude Sonnet 5
Model id
Claude Sonnet 5claude-sonnet-5
Intro
Claude Sonnet 5Sonnet 5 is Anthropic's most capable Sonnet-class model, with frontier performance across coding, agents, and professional work. It supports adaptive thinking with selectable reasoning effort levels (low, medium, high, max, and x-high), a 1M-token context window, and text, image, and file inputs. Sonnet 5 uses an updated tokenizer and includes real-time cyber safeguards that block certain high-risk dual-use activities.
Author
Claude Sonnet 5Anthropic
Released date
Claude Sonnet 52026-06-30
Context length
Claude Sonnet 51M
Max output tokens
Claude Sonnet 5128K
Name
Claude Opus 5Claude Opus 5
Model id
Claude Opus 5claude-opus-5
Intro
Claude Opus 5Claude Opus 5 is Anthropic’s flagship model for demanding reasoning, coding, and long-horizon agentic work. It is particularly strong at end-to-end software tasks, code review and bug finding, visual analysis of charts and documents, complex office deliverables, and coordinating parallel subagents.
The model maintains strong instruction following and tool use across extended tasks, while remaining effective at lower effort settings for workloads that prioritize latency and token efficiency.
Author
Claude Opus 5Anthropic
Released date
Claude Opus 52026-07-24
Context length
Claude Opus 51M
Max output tokens
Claude Opus 5128K
Name
Claude Sonnet 5Claude Sonnet 5
Name
Claude Opus 5Claude Opus 5
Model id
Claude Sonnet 5claude-sonnet-5
Model id
Claude Opus 5claude-opus-5
Intro
Claude Sonnet 5Sonnet 5 is Anthropic's most capable Sonnet-class model, with frontier performance across coding, agents, and professional work. It supports adaptive thinking with selectable reasoning effort levels (low, medium, high, max, and x-high), a 1M-token context window, and text, image, and file inputs. Sonnet 5 uses an updated tokenizer and includes real-time cyber safeguards that block certain high-risk dual-use activities.
Intro
Claude Opus 5Claude Opus 5 is Anthropic’s flagship model for demanding reasoning, coding, and long-horizon agentic work. It is particularly strong at end-to-end software tasks, code review and bug finding, visual analysis of charts and documents, complex office deliverables, and coordinating parallel subagents.
The model maintains strong instruction following and tool use across extended tasks, while remaining effective at lower effort settings for workloads that prioritize latency and token efficiency.
Author
Claude Sonnet 5Anthropic
Author
Claude Opus 5Anthropic
Released date
Claude Sonnet 52026-06-30
Released date
Claude Opus 52026-07-24
Context length
Claude Sonnet 51M
Context length
Claude Opus 51M
Max output tokens
Claude Sonnet 5128K
Max output tokens
Claude Opus 5128K
Pricing
Claude Sonnet 5Anthropic
Claude Opus 5Anthropic
Input
Claude Sonnet 5$2/M
Output
Claude Sonnet 5$10/M
Cached input
Claude Sonnet 5$0.2/M
Input
Claude Opus 5$5/M
Output
Claude Opus 5$25/M
Cached input
Claude Opus 5$0.5/M
Input
Claude Sonnet 5$2/M
Input
Claude Opus 5$5/M
Output
Claude Sonnet 5$10/M
Output
Claude Opus 5$25/M
Cached input
Claude Sonnet 5$0.2/M
Cached input
Claude Opus 5$0.5/M
Capabilities
Claude Sonnet 5Anthropic
Claude Opus 5Anthropic
Reasoning
Claude Sonnet 5
Knowledge
Claude Sonnet 52026-01-31
Attachment
Claude Sonnet 5
Input modalities
Claude Sonnet 5Text, Image, PDF
Output modalities
Claude Sonnet 5Text
Temperature
Claude Sonnet 5
Tool use
Claude Sonnet 5
Reasoning
Claude Opus 5
Knowledge
Claude Opus 52026-05-01
Attachment
Claude Opus 5
Input modalities
Claude Opus 5Text, Image, PDF
Output modalities
Claude Opus 5Text
Temperature
Claude Opus 5
Tool use
Claude Opus 5
Reasoning
Claude Sonnet 5
Reasoning
Claude Opus 5
Knowledge
Claude Sonnet 52026-01-31
Knowledge
Claude Opus 52026-05-01
Attachment
Claude Sonnet 5
Attachment
Claude Opus 5
Input modalities
Claude Sonnet 5Text, Image, PDF
Input modalities
Claude Opus 5Text, Image, PDF
Output modalities
Claude Sonnet 5Text
Output modalities
Claude Opus 5Text
Temperature
Claude Sonnet 5
Temperature
Claude Opus 5
Tool use
Claude Sonnet 5
Tool use
Claude Opus 5
Benchmark
Claude Sonnet 5Anthropic
Claude Opus 5Anthropic
Intelligence
41.7
Coding
66.4
Intelligence
wins60.7
Coding
wins78
Knowledge & Reasoning
GPQA
80%
HLE
17.8%
GPQA
wins93.2%
HLE
wins52.6%
Coding
SciCode
48.6%
SciCode
wins55.7%
Instruction Following & Agent Tasks
AA-LCR
58.7%
AA-LCR
wins70%
FAQ
Which model is better, Claude Sonnet 5 or Claude Opus 5?
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Claude Sonnet 5 and Claude Opus 5 should be compared by workload. This page places price, context, output limits, capabilities, and benchmark data side by side. It is also relevant to: claude sonnet 5 vs claude opus 5, sonnet 5 vs opus 5, claude sonnet vs opus.
Is Claude Opus 5 cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5?
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Use the pricing rows above to compare input, output, and cached input prices for Claude Sonnet 5 and Claude Opus 5.
Which model supports a longer context length?
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Claude Sonnet 5 lists 1M context length, while Claude Opus 5 lists 1M.
Can I access both models through TokenHub?
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If both models are available in the TokenHub catalog, you can route requests to Claude Sonnet 5 and Claude Opus 5 through the TokenHub API.