Claude Sonnet vs Claude Opus
On a typical agent workload, Claude Sonnet runs about 80% cheaper than Claude Opus at list price ($5,870 against $29,342 a month). Here is the full cost breakdown.
| metric | Claude SonnetAnthropic · Mid tier | Claude OpusAnthropic · Premium tier |
|---|---|---|
| Input priceper 1M tokens | $3.00 | $15.00 |
| Output priceper 1M tokens | $15.00 | $75.00 |
| Blended price3:1 input:output mix, per 1M | $6.00 | $30.00 |
| One chat request1.5k in / 600 out, no tools | $0.01 | $0.07 |
| Agent workload / month2,000 req/day, 3 tool calls, RAG on | $5,870 | $29,342 |
cheaper · public list prices as of 2026-06 · estimates, not quotes
which_to_choose
Which one should you pick?
On price alone, Claude Sonnet wins. It comes in around 80% cheaper than Claude Opus on the same agent workload ($5,870 against $29,342 a month at 2,000 requests a day), and the gap widens as volume and tool calls grow, because every tool call re-sends the context and you pay for it at each model's rate.
The case for Claude Opus comes down to fit. If it resolves a task in fewer attempts or shorter prompts on your workload, the higher per-token rate can still come out ahead of a cheaper model that needs retries. Price the two on your own evaluation set and your actual token mix before you commit, because the list price rarely decides it alone.
Claude Sonnet: Anthropic's balanced model and a common default for production agents. Claude Opus: Anthropic's most capable and most expensive tier, for the hardest reasoning.
faq
Questions & answers
- Is Claude Sonnet or Claude Opus cheaper?
- Claude Sonnet is cheaper at list price. It runs $3.00 per million input tokens and $15.00 per million output tokens, against $15.00 and $75.00 for Claude Opus. On a typical agent workload that works out to about 80% less per month.
- What is the price difference between Claude Sonnet and Claude Opus?
- Claude Sonnet is $3.00 in and $15.00 out per million tokens; Claude Opus is $15.00 in and $75.00 out. Output tokens cost several times more than input on both, so the gap that matters most depends on how much your workload generates versus reads.
- Should I switch from Claude Opus to Claude Sonnet to cut cost?
- Possibly. Claude Sonnet is about 80% cheaper on the same workload, and the saving grows with volume and tool calls because each tool call re-sends the context. But a cheaper model that needs retries or longer prompts can cost more in practice, so price both on your own evaluation set and your actual token mix before you switch.
Picking a model is the easy part. Making it cheap in production is the work.
Prompt caching, context trimming, and the right tier per task usually cut an LLM bill by more than switching models. Book a call, or leave your email and I'll reach out.
Prefer proof first? See how this plays out in real case studies →