Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Opus 5
Claude Opus 4.6 leads on coding; Claude Opus 5 leads on reasoning and tool use; both list at the same price per million tokens.
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As of 26 Oct 2026, 11:37 UTC · 24-hour board
- 76
- Claude Opus 4.6 on the Combined board, last 24 hours · joint 20th of 24
- 90
- Claude Opus 5 on the Combined board, last 24 hours · joint 1st of 24
- same
- list price per 1M tokens: both $5 in / $25 out
01
Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Opus 5 at a glance
Both models on the same four boards, the same list-price view and the same drift detectors. Scores carry their standard error; a place is shared, written joint, when the gap is inside that noise.
| Measure | Claude Opus 4.6 | Claude Opus 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Combinedscore ± standard error · place, 24-hour board | 76 ± 2.2joint 20th of 24 | 90 ± 2.2joint 1st of 24 |
| Codingscore ± standard error · place, 24-hour board | 91 ± 0.4joint 11th of 24 | 87 ± 0.7joint 18th of 24 |
| Reasoningscore ± standard error · place, 24-hour board | 52 ± 2.5joint 20th of 22 | 98 ± 2.5joint 1st of 22 |
| Tool usescore ± standard error · place, 24-hour board | 70 ± 2.5joint 20th of 22 | 89 ± 2.5joint 1st of 22 |
| List price per 1M tokensinput / output · blended 40/60 | $5 / $25$17 blended | $5 / $25$17 blended |
| Median response timecoding tasks, last 30 days | 14 s | 18 s |
| Pass ratecoding attempts, last 30 days | 85% | 87% |
| Cost per 1,000 correct answerscoding, last 30 days, every attempt billed | $18.10 | $16.98 |
| Drift statustrend on the 24-hour board · Page-Hinkley per suite | Holding steadyno detection on coding, reasoning and tool use | Holding steadyno detection on coding, reasoning and tool use |
| Tracked since | 6 Feb 2026262 days | 25 Jul 202645 days |
The boards re-rank after every run, so the figures here follow the leaderboard: each model’s own page, Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Opus 5, carry the full history. The whole board for each category is on best LLM for coding, best LLM for reasoning and best AI model for agents.
02
Is Claude Opus 4.6 better than Claude Opus 5 for coding?
The Coding board: seven repository debugging tasks graded by running the project’s own tests, including hidden tests the model never sees, re-tested every four hours.
Claude Opus 4.6 scores 91 ± 0.4 — joint 11th of the 24 models on the Coding board in the last 24 hours. Claude Opus 5 scores 87 ± 0.7 — joint 18th of the 24 models on the Coding board in the last 24 hours. The gap of 4 points is beyond the measurement noise, so Claude Opus 4.6 leads on coding.
Over the last 30 days, Claude Opus 4.6 passed 85% of its coding attempts and Claude Opus 5 87%.
See every model on the Coding board on best LLM for coding, or each model’s own page, Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Opus 5.
03
Is Claude Opus 4.6 better than Claude Opus 5 for reasoning?
The Reasoning board: four long, multi-turn working sessions every day, with continuity checked by running code against rules stated earlier in the session.
Claude Opus 4.6 scores 52 ± 2.5 — joint 20th of the 22 models on the Reasoning board in the last 24 hours. Claude Opus 5 scores 98 ± 2.5 — joint 1st of the 22 models on the Reasoning board in the last 24 hours. The gap of 46 points is beyond the measurement noise, so Claude Opus 5 leads on reasoning.
See every model on the Reasoning board on best LLM for reasoning.
04
Is Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Opus 5 better for agents and tool calling?
The Tool use board: nine tasks, each in a real sandboxed machine — either the job is done at the end or it is not. Task completion, tool selection, parameter accuracy, efficiency, error handling, context awareness and safety are scored.
Claude Opus 4.6 scores 70 ± 2.5 — joint 20th of the 22 models on the Tool use board in the last 24 hours. Claude Opus 5 scores 89 ± 2.5 — joint 1st of the 22 models on the Tool use board in the last 24 hours. The gap of 19 points is beyond the measurement noise, so Claude Opus 5 leads on tool use.
See every model on the Tool use board on best AI model for agents.
05
Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Opus 5?
List prices are each provider’s standard rate per million tokens, cache-miss input and output. Cost per correct answer counts every attempt on the coding tasks, failed ones included, over the last 30 days.
Claude Opus 4.6 lists at $5 in / $25 out per 1M tokens; Claude Opus 5 at $5 in / $25 out.
On a 40/60 input–output blend the two list at the same price.
Over the last 30 days, 1,000 correct coding answers cost about $18.10 with Claude Opus 4.6 and $16.98 with Claude Opus 5, every attempt billed, failed ones included.
The cheapest model that still passes the tests is on best value AI model.
06
Which is faster, Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Opus 5?
Median response time of one attempt or one session, from the same runs as the scores, over the last 30 days.
Median response time on the coding tasks over the last 30 days: Claude Opus 4.6 14 s, Claude Opus 5 18 s.
Claude Opus 4.6 answers about 1.3× faster.
On the reasoning sessions 1.1 min against 1.0 min and on the tool-use sessions 57 s against 1.9 min (Claude Opus 4.6 first).
Every model’s median is on fastest AI model.
07
Is Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Opus 5 getting worse?
Page-Hinkley change-point detection (a CUSUM-family test) runs per suite on each model’s daily median, with every constant published; a real shift is confirmed over days, not hours. An hourly canary of two fixed coding probes catches sharp drops.
Claude Opus 4.6 is holding steady on the 24-hour board; no Page-Hinkley detection on coding, reasoning or tool use.
Claude Opus 5 is holding steady on the 24-hour board; no Page-Hinkley detection on coding, reasoning or tool use.
The family pages answer the question for every model of a provider: Is Claude getting worse?. The method is on AI drift detection.
Three models free · email when a watched model's coding score falls five points in a week
Three models free · email when a watched model's coding score falls five points in a week
08
Should I use Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Opus 5?
Only a difference that clears a threshold counts: a board lead beyond the measurement noise (the leaderboard’s own tie rule), 10% on list price, 20% on response time or cost per correct answer.
Choose Claude Opus 4.6 when
- the work is coding: it leads the Coding board by 4 points in the last 24 hours (91 ± 0.4 against 87 ± 0.7)
- response time matters: a median of 14 s on the coding tasks against 18 s over the last 30 days
Choose Claude Opus 5 when
- the work is reasoning: it leads the Reasoning board by 46 points in the last 24 hours (98 ± 2.5 against 52 ± 2.5)
- the work is tool use: it leads the Tool use board by 19 points in the last 24 hours (89 ± 2.5 against 70 ± 2.5)
09
Can I route between Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Opus 5 automatically?
One OpenAI-compatible endpoint sends each request to whichever model the boards favour for that kind of work, with your own provider keys.
Yes. The Smart Router is one OpenAI-compatible endpoint with 14 auto-* routing modes: a quality mode such as auto-coding sends each request to the model placing highest on that board, the value modes pick within 5 points of the best and then the cheapest measured cost per run, and auto-split sends traffic by weights you set. Routing is drift-aware by default, uses your own provider keys and adds zero markup on tokens. Free includes 1,000 routed requests a month.
Every mode is described in the router documentation.
1,000 routed requests a month free · your own provider keys · no card
10
How we test Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Opus 5
Every model on the board runs the same tasks on the same schedule: coding every four hours, reasoning and tool use daily, with an hourly canary probe.
Scores come from our own runs through each provider’s public API, not vendor-reported numbers. Every model gets the same prompts and output budget, and the same sampling settings wherever a provider accepts them, and is graded by executing what it produces. Every score carries a standard error from its own run-to-run repeatability; models whose lead is inside that noise share a place, written joint.
The methodology is public — every weight, statistical test and drift constant. The test tasks are private, so no lab can train on them. The full method, weights and constants are on the methodology page.
11
Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Opus 5: questions people ask
Is Claude Opus 4.6 better than Claude Opus 5 for coding?
Claude Opus 4.6 scores 91 ± 0.4 — joint 11th of the 24 models on the Coding board in the last 24 hours. Claude Opus 5 scores 87 ± 0.7 — joint 18th of the 24 models on the Coding board in the last 24 hours. The gap of 4 points is beyond the measurement noise, so Claude Opus 4.6 leads on coding. Over the last 30 days, Claude Opus 4.6 passed 85% of its coding attempts and Claude Opus 5 87%.
Is Claude Opus 4.6 better than Claude Opus 5 for reasoning?
Claude Opus 4.6 scores 52 ± 2.5 — joint 20th of the 22 models on the Reasoning board in the last 24 hours. Claude Opus 5 scores 98 ± 2.5 — joint 1st of the 22 models on the Reasoning board in the last 24 hours. The gap of 46 points is beyond the measurement noise, so Claude Opus 5 leads on reasoning.
Is Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Opus 5 better for agents and tool calling?
Claude Opus 4.6 scores 70 ± 2.5 — joint 20th of the 22 models on the Tool use board in the last 24 hours. Claude Opus 5 scores 89 ± 2.5 — joint 1st of the 22 models on the Tool use board in the last 24 hours. The gap of 19 points is beyond the measurement noise, so Claude Opus 5 leads on tool use.
Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Opus 5?
Claude Opus 4.6 lists at $5 in / $25 out per 1M tokens; Claude Opus 5 at $5 in / $25 out. On a 40/60 input–output blend the two list at the same price. Over the last 30 days, 1,000 correct coding answers cost about $18.10 with Claude Opus 4.6 and $16.98 with Claude Opus 5, every attempt billed, failed ones included.
Which is faster, Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Opus 5?
Median response time on the coding tasks over the last 30 days: Claude Opus 4.6 14 s, Claude Opus 5 18 s. Claude Opus 4.6 answers about 1.3× faster. On the reasoning sessions 1.1 min against 1.0 min and on the tool-use sessions 57 s against 1.9 min (Claude Opus 4.6 first).
Is Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Opus 5 getting worse?
Claude Opus 4.6 is holding steady on the 24-hour board; no Page-Hinkley detection on coding, reasoning or tool use. Claude Opus 5 is holding steady on the 24-hour board; no Page-Hinkley detection on coding, reasoning or tool use. Page-Hinkley change-point detection (a CUSUM-family test) runs per suite on each model’s daily median, with every constant published; a real shift is confirmed over days, not hours. An hourly canary of two fixed coding probes catches sharp drops.
Should I use Claude Opus 4.6 or Claude Opus 5?
Claude Opus 4.6 leads on coding; Claude Opus 5 leads on reasoning and tool use; both list at the same price per million tokens. Choose Claude Opus 4.6 when the work is coding: it leads the Coding board by 4 points in the last 24 hours (91 ± 0.4 against 87 ± 0.7); response time matters: a median of 14 s on the coding tasks against 18 s over the last 30 days. Choose Claude Opus 5 when the work is reasoning: it leads the Reasoning board by 46 points in the last 24 hours (98 ± 2.5 against 52 ± 2.5); the work is tool use: it leads the Tool use board by 19 points in the last 24 hours (89 ± 2.5 against 70 ± 2.5).
Can I route between Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Opus 5 automatically?
Yes. The Smart Router is one OpenAI-compatible endpoint with 14 auto-* routing modes: a quality mode such as auto-coding sends each request to the model placing highest on that board, the value modes pick within 5 points of the best and then the cheapest measured cost per run, and auto-split sends traffic by weights you set. Routing is drift-aware by default, uses your own provider keys and adds zero markup on tokens. Free includes 1,000 routed requests a month.
Route between them automatically
The Smart Router sends each request to whichever of Claude Opus 4.6 and Claude Opus 5 — or any model on the board — the boards favour for that kind of work, with your own provider keys and zero markup on tokens.
1,000 routed requests a month free · your own provider keys · no card
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