Anthropic announced the launch of Claude Opus 5 on July 24, 2026. The new artificial intelligence model is priced at $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens, approximately half the cost of its predecessor, Claude Fable 5. Anthropic claims that Claude Opus 5 delivers performance comparable to Claude Fable 5 while also outperforming it on 10 out of 14 benchmark tests.
Designed for everyday use in coding and knowledge-based tasks, Claude Opus 5 is said to double the performance of its predecessor, Opus 4.8, in software engineering tasks. Anthropic emphasized that the model is not intended for high-risk areas such as advanced cybersecurity applications.
According to Anthropic’s head of product management, Dianne Penn, “Enterprises… are looking for value.” This launch comes as U.S. AI companies face competition from lower-cost Chinese models, making pricing a critical factor for developers and businesses.
Throughout internal testing, Claude Opus 5 reportedly demonstrated its capabilities by completing a range of tasks, including building a computer vision pipeline and creating a market data feed for a trading platform. Anthropic indicated that the model sets new standards for software engineering and knowledge work.
In terms of safety, Claude Opus 5 incorporates improved filters that intervene 85% less often than those on Fable 5. The model has been built to block high-risk requests while still helping developers identify and fix software vulnerabilities.
Claude Opus 5 is now the default model for Claude Max subscribers and the most capable option for Claude Pro users. This positioning reflects Anthropic’s strategy of balancing performance with affordability, aiming to meet the needs of enterprises seeking effective AI solutions.
Earlier models, Claude Mythos 5 and Fable 5, were briefly pulled from public access in June 2026 due to export control directives, which were lifted after approximately two weeks. The launch of Claude Opus 5 marks a renewed effort by Anthropic to provide advanced AI capabilities under fewer regulatory constraints.
