Claude Opus 5 is here. Anthropic released its newest flagship model on July 24, 2026, and the headline is hard to ignore: it delivers close to Claude Fable 5 intelligence at Opus speed and cost, for roughly half the price of Fable 5. At $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens, Opus 5 costs exactly the same as the model it replaces, Opus 4.8, while pushing well past it on nearly every benchmark Anthropic published. Independent testing from Artificial Analysis ranks Opus 5 number one on both its Intelligence Index and its Agentic Index on launch day.
This is Anthropic’s fourth model in under two months, following Mythos 5, Fable 5, and Sonnet 5. Below you get the full picture, what Opus 5 costs, what the benchmarks actually show, how the new effort setting lets you trade capability for cost, and whether you should switch from Opus 4.8 or Fable 5. We also cover how to reach Opus 5 on your Mac, including running it alongside GPT-5.6 and Gemini in one app.
The Key Takeaways
- Released July 24, 2026, Claude Opus 5 is Anthropic’s newest flagship and the fourth model in under two months.
- $5 / $25 per million tokens, identical to Opus 4.8 and about half the price of Fable 5 ($10 / $50).
- Opus 5 tops the independent Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index at 61 and the Agentic Index at 55.3, ranking number one on both above Fable 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol.
- A new effort setting (low to high, plus a max tier) lets you balance intelligence against token cost, and fast mode runs about 2.5x faster at twice the price.
- It is the new default on Claude Max and the strongest model on Claude Pro, with the API ID claude-opus-5.
What Is Claude Opus 5?
Claude Opus 5 is Anthropic’s latest large language model, positioned as the value flagship of the Claude 5 family. According to Anthropic’s announcement, it reaches close to Fable 5’s frontier intelligence but runs at Opus speed and Opus pricing. In plain terms, you get near-top-tier quality without paying top-tier prices.
Anthropic frames Opus 5 as its most capable generally available model for scientific research, with particular strength in biology and chemistry. It also calls Opus 5 the most aligned Opus model to date, and the least susceptible to being tricked into misuse. The company still recommends Fable 5 for the most advanced projects, including work a model might run autonomously for days, so Opus 5 is the everyday flagship rather than the absolute ceiling.
The model is available today across the Claude API (model ID claude-opus-5), Claude.ai, Claude Code, and Claude Cowork. It is now the default model on Claude Max and the strongest option on Claude Pro, so most paying subscribers already have access.
Claude Opus 5 Pricing
The pricing story is the reason Opus 5 matters. It costs $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens, the exact same rate as Opus 4.8. Because Fable 5 sits at $10 / $50, Opus 5 offers close to Fable 5 quality for roughly half the cost per token, which is the trade that makes it the sensible default for most work.
| Model | Input ($/1M) | Output ($/1M) | Best for | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5 | $5 | $25 | Everyday flagship, value pick | Pro, Max, API, Code, Cowork |
| Claude Opus 4.8 | $5 | $25 | Previous flagship | API, apps |
| Claude Fable 5 | $10 | $50 | Ceiling, multi-day autonomous work | API, apps |
There is also a fast mode for when speed matters more than budget. It runs at roughly 2.5 times the default speed for about twice the base price, available on the Claude Platform and through usage credits in Claude Code. For high-volume or latency-sensitive jobs, that is a straightforward lever to pull.
What the Benchmarks Show
Every figure below is reported by Anthropic at launch, so treat them as vendor numbers until independent testing catches up. Even with that caveat, the gains over Opus 4.8 are large, and several results land within striking distance of Fable 5 at a fraction of the cost per task.
| Benchmark | Claude Opus 5 result (Anthropic-reported) |
|---|---|
| Frontier-Bench v0.1 | Surpasses all other models, more than doubles Opus 4.8 at a lower cost per task |
| CursorBench 3.2 | Within 0.5% of Fable 5’s peak at max effort, at half the cost per task |
| ARC-AGI 3 | About 3x the next-best model |
| OSWorld 2.0 | Beats Fable 5’s best result at just over a third of the cost |
| Zapier AutomationBench | Pass rate around 1.5x the next-best model for the same cost per task |
| Organic chemistry | +10.2 points over Opus 4.8 |
| Protein tasks | +7.7 points over Opus 4.8 |
The pattern is consistent. On coding, agents, computer use, and science, Opus 5 either tops the field or matches Fable 5 while costing far less to run. The one place it does not lead is cybersecurity, where Anthropic notes Opus 5 still trails Mythos 5. If you want a broader view of where each model fits, our guide to which AI to use for which task breaks it down by job.
Where Claude Opus 5 Ranks on the Artificial Analysis Leaderboard
Independent testing backs up Anthropic’s numbers. On July 24, 2026, Artificial Analysis placed Claude Opus 5 at number one on both its Intelligence Index and its Agentic Index, ahead of Fable 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol. That is third-party confirmation rather than a vendor claim, which makes it the strongest single data point in Opus 5’s favor.
Opus 5 scores 61 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v4.1, one point above Fable 5 at 60 and two above GPT-5.6 Sol at 59. On the Agentic Index, which weights agentic-capability benchmarks, it leads with 55.3 against 54.0 for GPT-5.6 Sol and 52.8 for Fable 5. Here is how the top of each leaderboard looks.
| Model | Intelligence Index (v4.1) | Agentic Index |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5 (max) | 61 (#1) | 55.3 (#1) |
| Claude Fable 5 | 60 | 52.8 |
| GPT-5.6 Sol (max) | 59 | 54.0 |
| Kimi K3 | 57 | 50.1 |
| Claude Opus 4.8 (max) | 56 | 47.2 |
| GPT-5.6 Terra (max) | 55 | 47.4 |
| Grok 4.5 (high) | 54 | 45.7 |
| Claude Sonnet 5 (max) | 53 | 46.7 |
| GLM-5.2 (max) | 51 | 43.1 |
| Gemini 3.6 Flash | 50 | 38.7 |
The jump over the previous flagship is the real story. Opus 5 climbs from Opus 4.8’s 56 to 61 on intelligence and from 47.2 to 55.3 on agentic tasks, all at the same $5 / $25 price. A capability gain that large with no price increase is rare.
The New Effort Setting and Fast Mode
The standout new feature in Opus 5 is the effort setting. Instead of one fixed level of reasoning, you choose how hard the model works on a given task, which lets you optimize for intelligence on complex jobs or conserve tokens on simple ones. It is the same idea as picking a gear, more power when you need it, less when you do not.
How the effort levels work
The effort setting ranges from low to high, and Anthropic’s benchmark charts also reference a max effort tier used for its strongest results. Low effort answers faster and cheaper, which suits quick lookups, formatting, and routine drafting. High and max effort spend more tokens and time to squeeze out top-tier reasoning, which is where Opus 5 lands within 0.5% of Fable 5 on CursorBench. The practical upshot is that one model now covers both cheap-and-fast and slow-and-brilliant, so you are not paying flagship rates for trivial tasks.
Fast mode and other changes
Separate from effort, fast mode trades money for speed, running about 2.5 times faster at twice the base price. Opus 5 also adds mid-conversation tool changes and automatic API fallbacks, both in beta, which help developers building agentic workflows where tools and models shift mid-task. Anthropic also opened a Cyber Verification Program for enterprises, reflecting the stronger safety guardrails it built into this release.
Claude Opus 5 vs Fable 5 vs Opus 4.8: Which Should You Use?
For most people the answer is simple. If you are on Opus 4.8, moving to Opus 5 is a free upgrade in everything but name, same price, better results across the board. There is no reason to stay on the older model unless you have a workflow tuned to its exact behavior.
Choose Opus 5 for everyday work
Opus 5 is the value default. It handles coding, research, writing, computer use, and agent tasks at close to Fable 5 quality for half the token cost. With the effort setting, it also scales down cleanly for cheap high-volume jobs, which Fable 5 cannot match on price.
Choose Fable 5 for the hardest jobs
Anthropic still points to Fable 5 for the most advanced projects, especially long-horizon work a model runs autonomously for days. If you need the absolute ceiling and the cost is justified, Fable 5 remains the top pick. For everything else, Opus 5 gets you most of the way there for far less. To see how the broader field compares, our full Gemini model comparison covers how Google’s lineup stacks up on price and performance.
How to Use Claude Opus 5 on Mac
If you subscribe to Claude Pro or Claude Max, you already have Opus 5. It is the strongest model on Pro and the new default on Max, so you can select it in the model picker on Claude.ai, in the Claude desktop app, in Claude Code, and in Cowork. Developers can call it directly with the model ID claude-opus-5.
The catch for many Mac users is juggling subscriptions. If you also use GPT-5.6 and Gemini, paying for three separate apps adds up fast. A multi-model Mac app like Fello AI lets you reach Claude alongside ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, and more from one native interface, so you can put models head to head with other models on the same prompt without switching tabs or stacking plans.
That side-by-side setup is the fastest way to feel the difference the benchmarks describe. Run the same task through Opus 5, GPT-5.6, and Gemini 3.6, compare the answers, and pick the winner for your use case. For the current lay of the land, our roundup of the best AI models available right now tracks how these flagships rank each month.
Conclusion
Claude Opus 5 is the clearest value upgrade Anthropic has shipped this year. It brings near-Fable 5 intelligence to the Opus price point, tops the independent Artificial Analysis leaderboard on both intelligence and agentic tasks, and adds an effort setting that finally lets one model cover both cheap-and-fast and top-tier work. As Fortune reported, it comes close to Fable 5’s capabilities at half the price.
If you already pay for Claude Pro or Max, switch to Opus 5 today and keep Fable 5 in reserve for the heaviest autonomous jobs. If you run several AI models, put Opus 5 next to GPT-5.6 and Gemini in one Mac app and let your own prompts decide the winner.
FAQ
Is Claude Opus 5 out yet?
Yes. Anthropic released Claude Opus 5 on July 24, 2026. It is available through the Claude API, Claude.ai, Claude Code, and Claude Cowork, and it is the default model on Claude Max.
How much does Claude Opus 5 cost?
Claude Opus 5 costs $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens, the same as Opus 4.8 and about half the price of Fable 5. A fast mode runs roughly 2.5 times faster at twice the base price.
Is Claude Opus 5 better than Fable 5?
Not quite. Opus 5 comes within about 0.5% of Fable 5’s peak coding score at max effort for half the cost per task, but Anthropic still recommends Fable 5 for the most advanced, multi-day autonomous work. Opus 5 is the value pick, Fable 5 is the ceiling.
Can I use Claude Opus 5 on Mac?
Yes. Opus 5 works in the Claude desktop app and Claude.ai on Mac if you have Pro or Max. You can also reach it through a multi-model Mac app like Fello AI, which puts Claude alongside ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok in one native interface.
What is the Claude Opus 5 effort setting?
The effort setting lets you choose how hard Opus 5 works on a task, from low to high, plus a max tier for its strongest results. Lower effort is faster and cheaper for simple jobs, while higher effort spends more tokens to reach top-tier reasoning.
