Solar Pro 3 is $4.85 cheaper per 1M input tokens (97% lower; 33.3x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Solar Pro 3 vs Claude Opus 4.5
Pick Solar Pro 3 for lower cost; pick Claude Opus 4.5 only if the larger context window matters more.
Pricing data updated:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Solar Pro 3 for lower cost; pick Claude Opus 4.5 only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.5, saving $17.05 (97.4% lower).
Cost-first pickSolar Pro 3
Context-first pickClaude Opus 4.5
Sample savings$17.0597.4%
10x traffic gap$170.5
Claude Opus 4.5 has more context, but Solar Pro 3 saves $17.05 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $170.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Solar Pro 3 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Solar Pro 3 | Claude Opus 4.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Solar Pro 3 | $1.05 | $37.5 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Solar Pro 3 | $0.75 | $30 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Solar Pro 3 | $3.15 | $130 |
Solar Pro 3 is $24.4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (97.6% lower; 41.7x difference).
Claude Opus 4.5 has 72K more context (1.56x larger).
Solar Pro 3 is $17.05 cheaper on the standard workload (97.4% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
Solar Pro 3 has the lower input price; Solar Pro 3 has the lower output price; Claude Opus 4.5 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Solar Pro 3 is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.45 for Solar Pro 3 and $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.5.
Choose Solar Pro 3 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose Claude Opus 4.5 when you care most about larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.5, saving $17.05 (97.4% lower).
- Solar Pro 3 is $17.05 cheaper on the standard workload (97.4% lower).
- Solar Pro 3 is $4.85 cheaper per 1M input tokens (97% lower; 33.3x difference).
- Solar Pro 3 is $24.4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (97.6% lower; 41.7x difference).
- Claude Opus 4.5 has 72K more context (1.56x larger).
| Feature | Solar Pro 3 (Upstage) | Claude Opus 4.5 (Anthropic) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.15 | $5 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.6 | $25 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.45 | $17.5 |
| Context Window | 128K | 200K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Solar Pro 3 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.5, saving $17.05 (97.4% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Solar Pro 3 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Solar Pro 3 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Claude Opus 4.5 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Claude 3 Haiku can replace Claude Opus 4.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.88.
- Claude 3.5 Haiku can replace Claude Opus 4.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.8.
- Anthropic Claude Haiku Latest can replace Claude Opus 4.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 can replace Claude Opus 4.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.
- 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.
- OpenAI GPT Latest offers 1.05M context with $20 sample workload cost.
- No popular competitor is currently available.
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
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Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
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Open provider hubsUpstage catalog
Review all tracked Upstage models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Upstage modelsAnthropic catalog
Check other Anthropic models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
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