Claude Opus 5 launches as the new recommended default, priced level with Opus 4.8
Anthropic launched Claude Opus 5 (model ID claude-opus-5) as its recommended default for agentic coding and enterprise work, priced identically to Opus 4.8 at $5/$25 per 1M tokens — a model refresh, not a price move.
The top Opus-tier model was Claude Opus 4.8 at $5/$25 per 1M tokens (1M context), recommended for complex agentic coding and enterprise work.
Claude Opus 5 (claude-opus-5) is now the recommended default model, priced at the same $5/$25 per 1M tokens as Opus 4.8, with the same 1M context, 128k max output, and cache/batch/fast-mode multipliers. Opus 4.8 remains available as a legacy model at unchanged pricing. Opus 4.1 (deprecated) is scheduled to retire August 5, 2026.
Proof of change
Anthropic's own wording, on the page where we captured it.
If you're unsure which model to use, start with Claude Opus 5
Quoted from the capture below — these words appear on the page as shown, not paraphrased.
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Anthropic added Claude Opus 5 to its model lineup, replacing Claude Opus 4.8 as the recommended default (“If you’re unsure which model to use, start with Claude Opus 5”) for complex agentic coding and enterprise work. The new model carries the same $5/$25 per 1M token rate as Opus 4.8 — including identical prompt-caching multipliers (cache write $6.25/$10, cache read $0.50), Batch API pricing ($2.50/$12.50), and Fast-mode eligibility ($10/$50) — so this is a capability refresh rather than a repricing.
Claude Opus 4.8, 4.7, 4.6, and 4.5 all remain available as legacy models at unchanged pricing. Claude Opus 4.1 is flagged as deprecated with a scheduled retirement date of August 5, 2026. Sonnet 5, Haiku 4.5, Fable 5, and Mythos 5 pricing is unchanged.
Claude Opus 5 (model ID claude-opus-5) launched as the new recommended default model for complex agentic coding and enterprise work, priced identically to Opus 4.8 at $5/$25 per 1M tokens with matching cache, batch, and Fast-mode multipliers — a capability refresh, not a repricing. Opus 4.8, 4.7, 4.6, and 4.5 remain available as legacy models at unchanged pricing; Opus 4.1 is now scheduled to retire August 5, 2026.