API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewDots3-Note Preview (free) vs Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)

Pick Dots3-Note Preview (free) for lower cost; pick Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-08-15T06:07:46Z Data confirmed: 2026-08-23T12:07:48Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Dots3-Note Preview (free) for lower cost; pick Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Dots3-Note Preview (free) is estimated at $0 vs $8.75 for Claude Opus 4.8 (batch), saving $8.75 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickDots3-Note Preview (free)

Context-first pickClaude Opus 4.8 (batch)

Sample savings$8.75100%

10x traffic gap$87.5

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) has more context, but Dots3-Note Preview (free) saves $8.75 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $87.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Dots3-Note Preview (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Dots3-Note Preview (free)	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Dots3-Note Preview (free)	$0	$18.75
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Dots3-Note Preview (free)	$0	$15
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Dots3-Note Preview (free)	$0	$65

Cheaper input Dots3-Note Preview (free) $0 vs $2.5 / 1M

Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for input tokens while Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) costs $2.5 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Dots3-Note Preview (free) $0 vs $12.5 / 1M

Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for output tokens while Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) costs $12.5 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) 512K vs 1M

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) has 488K more context (1.95x larger).

Sample workload Dots3-Note Preview (free) $0 vs $8.75

Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $8.75.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Dots3-Note Preview (free) Calculating… Estimated API cost

Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) 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

Dots3-Note Preview (free) has the lower input price; Dots3-Note Preview (free) has the lower output price; Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Dots3-Note Preview (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for Dots3-Note Preview (free) and $8.75 for Claude Opus 4.8 (batch).

Best Fit

Choose Dots3-Note Preview (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Dots3-Note Preview (free) is estimated at $0 vs $8.75 for Claude Opus 4.8 (batch), saving $8.75 (100% lower).
Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $8.75.
Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for input tokens while Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) costs $2.5 per 1M tokens.
Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for output tokens while Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) costs $12.5 per 1M tokens.
Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) has 488K more context (1.95x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewDots3-Note Preview (free) (Dots Studio)	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) (Anthropic)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0	$2.5
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0	$12.5
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0	$8.75
Context Window	512K	1M
Release Date	2026-08-14	2026-05-27

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Dots3-Note Preview (free)	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Dots3-Note Preview (free) is estimated at $0 vs $8.75 for Claude Opus 4.8 (batch), saving $8.75 (100% lower).
High-volume input processing	Dots3-Note Preview (free)	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Dots3-Note Preview (free)	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)	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 4.8 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.88.
Claude Haiku 4.5 (batch) can replace Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.75.
Claude 3.5 Haiku can replace Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.8.
Claude Sonnet 5 (batch) can replace Claude Opus 4.8 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.

Larger context near this budget

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.11 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

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Ox Alpha · stealth · #4

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Provider catalogs

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Dots Studio catalog

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Anthropic catalog

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Open Anthropic models

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Claude Opus 4.8 (batch)

Claude Opus 4.8 is Anthropic's most capable generally available model in the Opus family. It supports text, image, and file inputs with text output, with reasoning support and a 1M-token...