API cost decision in 10 seconds

🔥Claude Opus 4.6 vs GPT-5.2 Pro

Pick Claude Opus 4.6 when budget and context both matter.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Claude Opus 4.6 when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Claude Opus 4.6 is estimated at $17.5 vs $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro, saving $87.5 (83.3% lower).

Cost-first pickClaude Opus 4.6
Context-first pickClaude Opus 4.6
Sample savings$87.583.3%
10x traffic gap$875

Claude Opus 4.6 is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $875. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Claude Opus 4.6 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickClaude Opus 4.6GPT-5.2 Pro
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputClaude Opus 4.6$37.5$189
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputClaude Opus 4.6$30$189
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputClaude Opus 4.6$130$861
Cheaper input Claude Opus 4.6 $5 vs $21 / 1M

Claude Opus 4.6 is $16 cheaper per 1M input tokens (76.2% lower; 4.2x difference).

Cheaper output Claude Opus 4.6 $25 vs $168 / 1M

Claude Opus 4.6 is $143 cheaper per 1M output tokens (85.1% lower; 6.72x difference).

Larger context Claude Opus 4.6 1M vs 400K

Claude Opus 4.6 has 600K more context (2.5x larger).

Sample workload Claude Opus 4.6 $17.5 vs $105

Claude Opus 4.6 is $87.5 cheaper on the standard workload (83.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Claude Opus 4.6 Calculating… Estimated API cost
GPT-5.2 Pro Calculating… Estimated API cost
Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

Claude Opus 4.6 has the lower input price; Claude Opus 4.6 has the lower output price; Claude Opus 4.6 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Claude Opus 4.6 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6 and $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro.

Best Fit

Choose Claude Opus 4.6 when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Choose GPT-5.2 Pro when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Claude Opus 4.6 is estimated at $17.5 vs $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro, saving $87.5 (83.3% lower).
  • Claude Opus 4.6 is $87.5 cheaper on the standard workload (83.3% lower).
  • Claude Opus 4.6 is $16 cheaper per 1M input tokens (76.2% lower; 4.2x difference).
  • Claude Opus 4.6 is $143 cheaper per 1M output tokens (85.1% lower; 6.72x difference).
  • Claude Opus 4.6 has 600K more context (2.5x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
Feature🔥Claude Opus 4.6
(Anthropic)		GPT-5.2 Pro
(OpenAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$5$21
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$25$168
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$17.5$105
Context Window1M400K
Release Date
Popularity#18

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionClaude Opus 4.6On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Claude Opus 4.6 is estimated at $17.5 vs $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro, saving $87.5 (83.3% lower).
High-volume input processingClaude Opus 4.6Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsClaude Opus 4.6Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workClaude Opus 4.6A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • Claude 3 Haiku can replace Claude Opus 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.88.
  • Claude 3.5 Haiku can replace Claude Opus 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.8.
  • Anthropic Claude Haiku Latest can replace Claude Opus 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.
  • Claude Haiku 4.5 can replace Claude Opus 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.
Larger context near this budget
  • Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
  • GPT-5.5 offers 1.05M context with $20 sample workload cost.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

Open provider hubs

Anthropic catalog

Review all tracked Anthropic models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

Open Anthropic models

OpenAI catalog

Check other OpenAI models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open OpenAI models
Claude Opus 4.6

Opus 4.6 is Anthropic’s strongest model for coding and long-running professional tasks. It is built for agents that operate across entire workflows rather than single prompts, making it especially effective...

GPT-5.2 Pro

GPT-5.2 Pro is OpenAI’s most advanced model, offering major improvements in agentic coding and long context performance over GPT-5 Pro. It is optimized for complex tasks that require step-by-step reasoning,...