API cost decision in 10 seconds

🔥Claude Opus 4.6 vs GPT-5

Pick GPT-5 for lower cost; pick Claude Opus 4.6 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T20:08:05Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick GPT-5 for lower cost; pick Claude Opus 4.6 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 is estimated at $6.25 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6, saving $11.25 (64.3% lower).

Cost-first pickGPT-5

Context-first pickClaude Opus 4.6

Sample savings$11.2564.3%

10x traffic gap$112.5

Claude Opus 4.6 has more context, but GPT-5 saves $11.25 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $112.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

GPT-5 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Claude Opus 4.6	GPT-5
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	GPT-5	$37.5	$11.25
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	GPT-5	$30	$11.25
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	GPT-5	$130	$51.25

Cheaper input GPT-5 $5 vs $1.25 / 1M

GPT-5 is $3.75 cheaper per 1M input tokens (75% lower; 4x difference).

Cheaper output GPT-5 $25 vs $10 / 1M

GPT-5 is $15 cheaper per 1M output tokens (60% lower; 2.5x difference).

Larger context Claude Opus 4.6 1M vs 400K

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

Sample workload GPT-5 $17.5 vs $6.25

GPT-5 is $11.25 cheaper on the standard workload (64.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Claude Opus 4.6 Calculating… Estimated API cost

GPT-5 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

GPT-5 has the lower input price; GPT-5 has the lower output price; Claude Opus 4.6 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GPT-5 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 $6.25 for GPT-5.

Best Fit

Choose Claude Opus 4.6 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose GPT-5 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 is estimated at $6.25 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6, saving $11.25 (64.3% lower).
GPT-5 is $11.25 cheaper on the standard workload (64.3% lower).
GPT-5 is $3.75 cheaper per 1M input tokens (75% lower; 4x difference).
GPT-5 is $15 cheaper per 1M output tokens (60% lower; 2.5x difference).
Claude Opus 4.6 has 600K more context (2.5x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	🔥Claude Opus 4.6 (Anthropic)	GPT-5 (OpenAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$5	$1.25
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$25	$10
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$17.5	$6.25
Context Window	1M	400K
Release Date	2026-02-04	2025-08-07
Popularity	#18	#57

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	GPT-5	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 is estimated at $6.25 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6, saving $11.25 (64.3% lower).
High-volume input processing	GPT-5	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	GPT-5	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Claude Opus 4.6	A 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 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
GPT-5.5 offers 1.05M context with $20 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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Anthropic catalog

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OpenAI catalog

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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

GPT-5 is OpenAI’s most advanced model, offering major improvements in reasoning, code quality, and user experience. It is optimized for complex tasks that require step-by-step reasoning, instruction following, and accuracy...