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Claude 4.5 Opus vs Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Compare pricing, context windows, and strengths for Claude 4.5 Opus by Anthropic and Claude 3.5 Sonnet by Anthropic - and see how to put either to work in Appaca.

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Claude 4.5 Opus

Anthropic's November 2025 flagship model, combining maximum capability with practical performance for coding, agents, computer use, and enterprise workflows.

View Claude 4.5 Opus
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Claude 3.5 Sonnet

A fast, mid-tier model offering top-tier intelligence, strong reasoning, and advanced coding/vision capabilities at low cost.

View Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Claude 4.5 Opus vs Claude 3.5 Sonnet at a glance

Specs and pricing side by side, from the Appaca AI models directory.

Spec Claude 4.5 Opus Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Provider Anthropic Anthropic
Model type Text Text
Context window 200K tokens 200K tokens
Input price $5 / 1M tokens $3 / 1M tokens
Output price $25 / 1M tokens $15 / 1M tokens
Status Superseded by Claude 4.6 Opus Superseded by Claude 4.5 Sonnet
Key differences

How Claude 4.5 Opus and Claude 3.5 Sonnet differ

What the numbers mean in practice when choosing between Claude 4.5 Opus and Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

  • Claude 3.5 Sonnet is 40% cheaper on input tokens ($3 vs $5 per million), which adds up quickly in document-heavy workloads.

  • Claude 3.5 Sonnet is 40% cheaper on output tokens ($15 vs $25 per million) - the bigger factor for tools that generate long documents.

  • Both models offer the same 200K tokens context window.

  • Claude 4.5 Opus has been superseded by Claude 4.6 Opus - for new builds, consider the newer model first.

  • Claude 3.5 Sonnet has been superseded by Claude 4.5 Sonnet - for new builds, consider the newer model first.

Strengths side by side

Where each model shines, according to benchmarks and provider positioning.

Claude 4.5 Opus

1. Maximum capability with more practical pricing

  • Anthropic introduced Opus 4.5 as its most intelligent model, combining maximum capability with practical performance.
  • It was positioned as the best model in the world for coding, agents, and computer use at launch, with pricing reduced to $5/M input and $25/M output.

2. Step-change gains for coding and advanced agent work

  • Anthropic describes Opus 4.5 as state-of-the-art on real-world software engineering tests.
  • It also improved everyday knowledge-work tasks like deep research, slides, and spreadsheets while staying strong on long-horizon agent workflows.

3. Better control over reasoning depth

  • Opus 4.5 introduced the effort parameter, letting developers trade off response thoroughness against token efficiency.
  • This made it easier to use one flagship model across both high-depth analysis and more cost-sensitive production workloads.

4. Stronger computer use and continuity

  • Added enhanced computer use with a zoom action for inspecting detailed screen regions.
  • Preserves prior thinking blocks across turns, helping the model maintain reasoning continuity in extended multi-step tasks.

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

1. Intelligence & Reasoning

  • Outperforms previous Claude models and competitor LLMs across major benchmarks.
  • Excels in graduate-level reasoning (GPQA), knowledge tasks (MMLU), and coding (HumanEval).
  • Handles nuance, humor, and complex instructions with human-like clarity.

2. Speed & Efficiency

  • Runs 2x faster than Claude 3 Opus, making it ideal for real-time and high-volume workflows.
  • Cost-effective pricing: $3/M input tokens and $15/M output tokens.
  • Supports a 200K token context window, enabling rich, long-form reasoning.

3. Coding Capabilities

  • Solves significantly more coding and bug-fix tasks (64% vs Opus's 38% in internal evaluations).
  • Can autonomously write, edit, and execute code when tool use is enabled.
  • Strong at translating and modernizing legacy codebases.

4. Vision Strength

  • Best vision model in the Claude family, surpassing Opus on vision benchmarks.
  • Excellent at interpreting charts, graphs, and imperfect images.
  • Reliable text extraction from low-quality visuals for retail, logistics, finance, etc.

5. Agentic Workflows

  • Highly capable for multi-step task orchestration.
  • Performs well as the engine for agents requiring reasoning, planning, and tool-calling abilities.

6. Content Quality

  • Produces natural, relatable writing with improved tone, style, and context awareness.
  • Strong at long-form content creation and editing.

7. Safety & Reliability

  • Rated ASL-2, meeting Anthropic's safety standards.
  • Undergoes extensive red-teaming and external evaluation (UK AISI & US AISI).
  • Not trained on user data without explicit permission.
Appaca

Use Claude 4.5 Opus or Claude 3.5 Sonnet - or both

Appaca is the AI workspace for operators. Build internal tools and AI co-workers powered by Claude 4.5 Opus or Claude 3.5 Sonnet - connected to your real data and ready for your whole team. No code, no deployment.

Describe it, and it's built

Tell the Appaca agent the internal tool you need and it builds a working app powered by Claude 4.5 Opus or Claude 3.5 Sonnet. No code, no API keys, no deployment.

Switch models without rebuilding

Start on Claude 4.5 Opus, test the same tool on Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and keep whichever performs better - the rest of your app stays exactly as it is.

Automated for the whole team

Schedule tools to run on autopilot - daily digests, weekly reports, real-time triggers - and share them with your whole team from one workspace.

Describe it, and it's built

Tell the Appaca agent what your team needs and it builds a working app powered by Claude 4.5 Opus or Claude 3.5 Sonnet - connected to the tools you already use.

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Chat to app Appaca app builder

FAQs

Is Claude 4.5 Opus cheaper than Claude 3.5 Sonnet?

Claude 3.5 Sonnet is generally cheaper: $3 input / $15 output per million tokens, versus $5 / $25 for Claude 4.5 Opus. Actual cost depends on how many tokens your workload reads and writes.

Which has the larger context window, Claude 4.5 Opus or Claude 3.5 Sonnet?

They are equal: both Claude 4.5 Opus and Claude 3.5 Sonnet support a 200K tokens context window.

Should I use Claude 4.5 Opus or Claude 3.5 Sonnet?

It depends on the job. Compare the pricing, context window, and strengths above against your workload - and remember the choice isn't permanent. In Appaca you can build a tool on Claude 4.5 Opus, test the same tool on Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and switch at any time without rebuilding anything.

Can I use Claude 4.5 Opus and Claude 3.5 Sonnet without writing code?

Yes. Appaca is a no-code AI workspace: describe the internal tool your team needs and the Appaca agent builds it as a working app powered by Claude 4.5 Opus, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, or any other model in the directory - with a built-in database, team access, and integrations. No API keys to wire up and nothing to deploy.

Build AI tools with Claude 4.5 Opus or Claude 3.5 Sonnet

Describe the tool your team needs and get a working app powered by the model you choose - with a built-in database, team access, and integrations. No code, no deployment.