Anthropic vs OpenAI: Token Pricing, Speed & Intelligence
Full comparison of Anthropic and OpenAI — live token pricing, latency, throughput, context window, strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases. Rates sourced from public APIs — verify before use.
Anthropic
Claude 5 — Fable 5.1, Opus 5, Sonnet 5, Haiku 4.5 with 1M context
Anthropic builds the Claude model family, now in its fifth generation. The Claude 5 lineup includes Fable 5.1 and Opus 5 at the frontier (1M+ token context, reasoning models), Claude Sonnet 5 for production workloads, and Haiku 4.5 for cost-efficient inference. Anthropic also offers Claude Code (agentic coding) and Claude Science (research) as specialised products. Prompt caching is available at up to 90% discount.
OpenAI
GPT-6 Astra, GPT-5.6 Sol/Terra/Luna — plus image, voice, and realtime APIs
OpenAI's September 2026 API lineup spans GPT-6 Astra (flagship frontier), GPT-5.6 Sol (promotional), GPT-5.6 Terra (balanced), and GPT-5.6 Luna (everyday). Beyond text, the platform includes GPT-Image-2.5 (Sunburst and Flare), GPT-Live-1 voice, GPT-Realtime-2.1 for low-latency voice agents, and transcription/translation models. Batch API saves 50% on all models. Check the live table for current per-token rates.
Key metric comparison
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Live token pricing
Strengths and weaknesses
Anthropic
OpenAI
Key differentiators
Claude 5 Opus and Fable 5 lead the BenchLM leaderboard as of September 2026, with 1M+ context windows and extended reasoning — plus Claude Code for agentic software engineering.
A broad AI API platform — GPT-6 Astra to GPT-5.6 Luna covering multiple capability tiers, plus native image, voice, realtime, and transcription APIs under one key.
Frequently asked questions
Anthropic FAQs
What are the latest Anthropic Claude models?
The Claude 5 family includes Fable 5.1 and Opus 5 (frontier reasoning), Claude Sonnet 5 (balanced), and Haiku 4.5 (efficient tier). Claude Code is a specialised agentic coding product. Check docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/about-claude/models for current pricing.
What is the context window for Claude 5 models?
Claude 5 Opus, Fable 5, and Mythos 5 all support 1M+ token context windows, enabling full-codebase and book-length document analysis in a single call.
How does Anthropic prompt caching work?
Anthropic's prompt caching lets you mark portions of your prompt (system prompts, documents, tool definitions) to be cached server-side. Cached tokens are billed at 10% of the standard input price after the first write, making repeated long-context calls dramatically cheaper.
OpenAI FAQs
What are the latest OpenAI models as of 2026?
OpenAI's current lineup includes GPT-6 Astra (flagship frontier), GPT-5.6 Sol (promotional), GPT-5.6 Terra (balanced), and GPT-5.6 Luna (everyday). The o-series reasoning models remain available for complex multi-step tasks. Check the live table or platform.openai.com/docs/pricing for current rates.
How much does the OpenAI API cost?
OpenAI uses tiered per-token pricing across its model lineup. The Batch API cuts all prices by 50% for async workloads, and prompt caching reduces input costs by 50% on eligible requests. Check platform.openai.com/docs/pricing for current rates.
Does OpenAI support prompt caching?
Yes. Prompt caching is available on GPT-6 Astra, GPT-5.6 Sol, and other major models. Cached input tokens are billed at 50% of the standard input price, making long-context and repeated-system-prompt workloads significantly cheaper.
Provider resources
Anthropic — Claude 5 — Fable 5.1, Opus 5, Sonnet 5, Haiku 4.5 with 1M context
Anthropic builds the Claude model family, now in its fifth generation. The Claude 5 lineup includes Fable 5.1 and Opus 5 at the frontier (1M+ token context, reasoning models), Claude Sonnet 5 for production workloads, and Haiku 4.5 for cost-efficient inference. Anthropic also offers Claude Code (agentic coding) and Claude Science (research) as specialised products. Prompt caching is available at up to 90% discount.
Claude 5 Opus and Fable 5 lead the BenchLM leaderboard as of September 2026, with 1M+ context windows and extended reasoning — plus Claude Code for agentic software engineering.
OpenAI — GPT-6 Astra, GPT-5.6 Sol/Terra/Luna — plus image, voice, and realtime APIs
OpenAI's September 2026 API lineup spans GPT-6 Astra (flagship frontier), GPT-5.6 Sol (promotional), GPT-5.6 Terra (balanced), and GPT-5.6 Luna (everyday). Beyond text, the platform includes GPT-Image-2.5 (Sunburst and Flare), GPT-Live-1 voice, GPT-Realtime-2.1 for low-latency voice agents, and transcription/translation models. Batch API saves 50% on all models. Check the live table for current per-token rates.
A broad AI API platform — GPT-6 Astra to GPT-5.6 Luna covering multiple capability tiers, plus native image, voice, realtime, and transcription APIs under one key.
Key strengths compared
Anthropic
- Claude 5 family leads on coding and reasoning benchmarks
- 1M+ token context window on Claude 5 models
- Aggressive prompt caching — up to 90% discount
- No open-weight models — full vendor lock-in
- Frontier models are among the higher-priced options — check live table for current rates
OpenAI
- Wide API surface: text, image, voice, realtime, transcription, translation, web search, code execution
- GPT-6 Astra at the frontier; GPT-5.6 Sol at promotional pricing
- Prompt caching on all major models (10% of input price)
- No open-weight models — full vendor lock-in
- GPT-6 Astra output pricing is among the highest for frontier tier — check live table
Key weaknesses compared
Anthropic
- No open-weight models — full vendor lock-in
- Frontier models are among the higher-priced options — check live table for current rates
- No native image generation capability
OpenAI
- No open-weight models — full vendor lock-in
- GPT-6 Astra output pricing is among the highest for frontier tier — check live table
- Rate limits can be restrictive on lower tiers
Provider category context
Anthropic is a frontier lab, founded in 2021. OpenAI is a frontier lab, founded in 2015. Both are frontier lab providers — the comparison is primarily about pricing, model selection, and feature differentiation within the same tier.
How to choose between them
Both Anthropic and OpenAI are frontier labs with proprietary models. Choose based on benchmark performance for your specific task: Anthropic leads on claude 5 family leads on coding and reasoning benchmarks, while OpenAI leads on wide api surface: text, image, voice, realtime, transcription, translation, web search, code execution. For cost-sensitive workloads, compare the cheapest model tier from each provider in the pricing table above — the gap between efficient-tier models is often larger than between flagship models.