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Model comparison

Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Opus 4.5

AnthropicClaude Opus 4.6
Input
$5 / 1M tokens
Output
$25 / 1M tokens
Context
1M
Released
2026-02-05
Full model page →AnthropicClaude Opus 4.5
Input
$5.00
Output
$25.00
Context
200K
Released
2025-11-24
Full model page →
Short answer

Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Opus 4.5 split the 2 benchmarks both report evenly; both charge the same $5 per 1M input tokens; Claude Opus 4.6 has the larger context window (1M vs 200K).

Specs and pricing side by side

SpecClaude Opus 4.6Claude Opus 4.5
MakerAnthropicAnthropicsame
Released2026-02-052025-11-24
Context window1M200K
Max output128K (up to 300K via batch beta)64K
Input price$5 / 1M tokens$5.00
Output price$25 / 1M tokens$25.00
ParametersUndisclosedUndisclosedsame
LicenseProprietary (commercial, usage-based API)Proprietary
WeightsAPI onlyAPI onlysame
ModalitiesText, Vision, PDFText, Vision
Knowledge cutoffReliable knowledge cutoff May 2025; training…May 2025

Benchmarks both models report

BenchmarkClaude Opus 4.6Claude Opus 4.5
SWE-bench Verified79.8%80.9%
ARC-AGI-268.8%37.6%

Scores are as published by each maker or its cited source; harness, reasoning effort and date can differ between rows, so treat small gaps as ties. Sources are listed on each model page.

Which one should you pick?

Pick Claude Opus 4.6 if…

  • You care about ARC-AGI-2 (it scores higher on 1 shared benchmark).
  • You need the longer context (1M vs 200K).
  • You need PDF input, which Claude Opus 4.5 lacks.
  • Your use case is: autonomous and agentic coding workflows (multi-step tasks, terminal/CLI agents).

Pick Claude Opus 4.5 if…

  • You care about SWE-bench Verified (it scores higher on 1 shared benchmark).
  • Your use case is: reach for it when you need a capable model for multi-step agentic coding and bug-fixing across real repositories.

FAQ

Which is better, Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Opus 4.5?

Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Opus 4.5 split the 2 benchmarks both report evenly; both charge the same $5 per 1M input tokens; Claude Opus 4.6 has the larger context window (1M vs 200K). The better pick depends on whether you value benchmark scores, price per token, context length or openness for your workload.

How do Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Opus 4.5 pricing compare?

Claude Opus 4.6: $5 / 1M tokens input, $25 / 1M tokens output. Claude Opus 4.5: $5.00 input, $25.00 output (list API prices as published by each maker).

What are the context windows of Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Opus 4.5?

Claude Opus 4.6 offers 1M with up to 128K (up to 300K via batch beta) output; Claude Opus 4.5 offers 200K with up to 64K output.

Is Claude Opus 4.6 newer than Claude Opus 4.5?

Claude Opus 4.6 was released 2026-02-05; Claude Opus 4.5 was released 2025-11-24.

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