API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewBeam 1.0 501B A23B vs Claude Opus 5.5 (batch)

Pick Beam 1.0 501B A23B 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 Beam 1.0 501B A23B when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Beam 1.0 501B A23B is estimated at $0.75 vs $7 for Claude Opus 5.5 (batch), saving $6.25 (89.3% lower).

Cost-first pickBeam 1.0 501B A23B
Context-first pickBeam 1.0 501B A23B
Sample savings$6.2589.3%
10x traffic gap$62.5

Beam 1.0 501B A23B is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $62.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Beam 1.0 501B A23B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickBeam 1.0 501B A23BClaude Opus 5.5 (batch)
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputBeam 1.0 501B A23B$1.75$15
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputBeam 1.0 501B A23B$1.25$12
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputBeam 1.0 501B A23B$5.25$52
Cheaper input Beam 1.0 501B A23B $0.25 vs $2 / 1M

Beam 1.0 501B A23B is $1.75 cheaper per 1M input tokens (87.5% lower; 8x difference).

Cheaper output Beam 1.0 501B A23B $1 vs $10 / 1M

Beam 1.0 501B A23B is $9 cheaper per 1M output tokens (90% lower; 10x difference).

Larger context Beam 1.0 501B A23B 1.05M vs 1M

Beam 1.0 501B A23B has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).

Sample workload Beam 1.0 501B A23B $0.75 vs $7

Beam 1.0 501B A23B is $6.25 cheaper on the standard workload (89.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Beam 1.0 501B A23B Calculating… Estimated API cost
Claude Opus 5.5 (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

Beam 1.0 501B A23B has the lower input price; Beam 1.0 501B A23B has the lower output price; Beam 1.0 501B A23B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Beam 1.0 501B A23B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.75 for Beam 1.0 501B A23B and $7 for Claude Opus 5.5 (batch).

Best Fit

Choose Beam 1.0 501B A23B when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Choose Claude Opus 5.5 (batch) 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, Beam 1.0 501B A23B is estimated at $0.75 vs $7 for Claude Opus 5.5 (batch), saving $6.25 (89.3% lower).
  • Beam 1.0 501B A23B is $6.25 cheaper on the standard workload (89.3% lower).
  • Beam 1.0 501B A23B is $1.75 cheaper per 1M input tokens (87.5% lower; 8x difference).
  • Beam 1.0 501B A23B is $9 cheaper per 1M output tokens (90% lower; 10x difference).
  • Beam 1.0 501B A23B has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNewBeam 1.0 501B A23B
(Reflection)		Claude Opus 5.5 (batch)
(Anthropic)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$0.25$2
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$1$10
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$0.75$7
Context Window1.05M1M
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionBeam 1.0 501B A23BOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Beam 1.0 501B A23B is estimated at $0.75 vs $7 for Claude Opus 5.5 (batch), saving $6.25 (89.3% lower).
High-volume input processingBeam 1.0 501B A23BLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsBeam 1.0 501B A23BLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workBeam 1.0 501B A23BA larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • Claude Haiku 5.5 (batch) can replace Claude Opus 5.5 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.17.
  • Claude Haiku 5.5 can replace Claude Opus 5.5 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.35.
  • Claude Haiku Latest can replace Claude Opus 5.5 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.35.
  • Claude 3 Haiku can replace Claude Opus 5.5 (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.88.
Larger context near this budget

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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Reflection catalog

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Anthropic catalog

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

Open Anthropic models
Beam 1.0 501B A23B

Beam 1.0 is Reflection's open-weight reasoning model for coding and long-horizon agentic workflows. It uses a sparse mixture-of-experts architecture with 501B total and 23B active parameters per token, and a...

Claude Opus 5.5 (batch)

Claude Opus 5.5 is Anthropic's flagship model for demanding reasoning, coding, and long-horizon agentic work, succeeding Claude Opus 5. It is particularly strong at multi-step changes in large codebases, code...