# Claude API pricing: every model, prompt caching, batch and tools

What each Claude model costs on Anthropic's API, how caching and the Batch API cut it, what the tools cost, and when a subscription is cheaper.

Published 2026-10-28 by Richard Kaminsky and Mitchell Lipyansky, the co-founders of Poly. Canonical: https://usepoly.co/claude-api-pricing
Poly is a multiplayer AI coding workspace: a shared room where your team works with one AI agent, together. Free to start: https://usepoly.co/

**Claude API prices per million tokens, input and output: Claude Opus 5.5 costs $4 and $20, Sonnet 5.5 $2 and $10, Haiku 5.5 $0.10 and $0.50, and Fable 5.1 $10 and $50. Reading from the prompt cache costs a small fraction of the input price (5% on Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5), the Batch API halves everything, and the current models carry the full 1 million token context window at the standard price, except Haiku 5.5, which costs five times as much above 100,000 tokens.** Web search is $10 per 1,000 searches, US-only inference adds 10%, and new accounts start with a small amount of free credit.

## Key takeaways

- **Flagship:** Opus 5.5 at $4 and $20, the same price Cursor and GitHub Copilot charge for it.
- **Everyday:** Sonnet 5.5 at $2 and $10. **Cheapest:** Haiku 5.5 at $0.10 and $0.50.
- **Top end:** Fable 5.1 at $10 and $50.
- **Caching:** writes cost 1.25 times input for five minutes or 2 times for an hour; reads cost 0.025 to 0.1 times.
- **Batch:** 50% off input and output for jobs that can wait up to a day.
- **Long context:** no surcharge on Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 or Fable 5.1.

*Claude API prices per million tokens, from Anthropic's pricing docs, October 28, 2026.*

| Model | Input | Output | Cache read | Batch (input / output) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | $10 | $50 | $0.25 | $5 / $25 |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | $4 | $20 | $0.20 | $2 / $10 |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | $2 | $10 | $0.10 | $1 / $5 |
| Claude Haiku 5.5 (up to 100K) | $0.10 | $0.50 | $0.01 | $0.05 / $0.25 |
| Claude Haiku 5.5 (over 100K) | $0.50 | $2.50 | $0.05 | $0.25 / $1.25 |
| Claude Opus 5 and 4.5 to 4.8 | $5 | $25 | $0.50 | $2.50 / $12.50 |
| Claude Sonnet 4 to 4.6 | $3 | $15 | $0.30 | $1.50 / $7.50 |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | $1 | $5 | $0.10 | $0.50 / $2.50 |

## How much does the Claude API cost?

From Anthropic's pricing docs ([Anthropic](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/pricing)), per million tokens:

- **Claude Fable 5.1:** $10 input, $50 output. Cache writes $12.50 (five minutes) or $20 (one hour), cache reads $0.25.
- **Claude Opus 5.5:** $4 input, $20 output. Cache writes $5 or $8, reads $0.20.
- **Claude Sonnet 5.5:** $2 input, $10 output. Cache writes $2.50 or $4, reads $0.10.
- **Claude Haiku 5.5:** $0.10 input, $0.50 output on prompts up to 100,000 tokens; $0.50 and $2.50 above that. Cache reads $0.01.

Older models still on sale cost more than their replacements:

- **Opus 5 and Opus 4.5 to 4.8:** $5 and $25.
- **Sonnet 5:** $2 and $10; the planned rise to $3 and $15 "will not occur."
- **Sonnet 4 to 4.6:** $3 and $15.
- **Haiku 4.5:** $1 and $5.
- **Fable 5:** $10 and $50.

Opus 4 and 4.1, at $15 and $75, are retired on Anthropic's own API. Anthropic notes that models from 4.7 onward use "approximately 30% more tokens for the same text", so a per-token price comparison with older models understates the difference.

## How much does prompt caching save?

A prompt that starts with the same long prefix every time (a system prompt, a codebase, a document) can be cached:

- **Writing** to the cache costs 1.25 times the input price for a five-minute cache, or 2 times for one hour.
- **Reading** costs 0.1 times the input price on most models, 0.05 times on Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5, and 0.025 times on Fable 5.1.

On Sonnet 5.5, a 100,000-token prefix costs $0.20 a call uncached. Cached, the first call writes it for $0.25 and each call after that reads it for $0.01. Ten calls inside five minutes cost about $0.34 instead of $2. Coding agents depend on this: every turn resends the whole conversation, and caching is what keeps long sessions affordable ([how to cut Claude Code token use](/reduce-claude-code-token-usage)).

## What does the Batch API cost?

Requests sent through the Message Batches API cost 50% less, input and output: Opus 5.5 becomes $2 and $10, Sonnet 5.5 $1 and $5. Results come back asynchronously, within 24 hours. It suits evaluations, classification and bulk summaries, not anything a person is waiting on. Batch discounts stack with caching.

## Does the Claude API charge more for long context?

Not on current models. Anthropic says "Claude 4.6 and later models (except Claude Haiku 5.5)" include the full 1 million token context window at standard pricing, so a 500,000-token request on Sonnet 5.5 costs exactly 500,000 times the per-token rate. Haiku 5.5 is the exception: prompts over 100,000 tokens cost five times as much, $0.50 input and $2.50 output.

## What else costs extra?

- **Fast mode:** Opus 5.5 at $8 and $40, double the standard price, for faster output. Not available with Batch.
- **US-only inference:** setting inference to the US multiplies every token price by 1.1, on 4.6 and later models.
- **Web search:** $10 per 1,000 searches, plus the tokens the results add. Web fetch has "no additional cost" beyond tokens.
- **Code execution:** free when used with web search or web fetch; otherwise $0.05 an hour per container, after a free allowance.
- **Managed Agents:** $0.08 per session-hour, plus tokens.

## What are the Claude API usage tiers?

New organizations get "a small amount of free credits" and may start in an evaluation tier. After that, tiers set a monthly spend cap ([Anthropic](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/api/rate-limits)):

- **Start:** up to $500 a month.
- **Build:** up to $1,000.
- **Scale:** up to $200,000.
- **Custom:** no cap, by arrangement.

At Start, Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5 each allow 1,000 requests, 2 million input tokens and 400,000 output tokens a minute.

## API or a Claude subscription?

For one person using Claude Code every day, a subscription is usually cheaper: Anthropic puts the average Claude Code user at about $13 per active day at API prices, while Claude Pro costs $20 a month and Max $100 or $200 ([Claude Code pricing](/claude-code-pricing)). The API suits apps, automations and occasional heavy jobs.

Since October 7, 2026, subscriptions also come with API credit: $100 a month on Max 5x, $200 on Max 20x, and on Team $20 per standard seat and $100 per premium seat, up to $500. The credits cover the API, Managed Agents and the Agent SDK, not Claude Code, and expire each billing cycle ([Claude Team plan pricing](/claude-team-pricing)). Claude Enterprise bills all its usage at these API rates ([Claude Enterprise pricing](/claude-enterprise-pricing)).

## Claude API vs OpenAI API prices

- **Top models:** Opus 5.5 at $4 and $20 against GPT-6 Astra at $10 and $50.
- **Mid-range:** Sonnet 5.5 and GPT-6.1 Sol both at $2 and $10.
- **Small:** Haiku 5.5 and GPT-6 Luna both at $0.10 and $0.50.

OpenAI charges extra above 272,000 input tokens; Anthropic doesn't on its current models apart from Haiku 5.5. Full list in [OpenAI API pricing](/openai-api-pricing), and Fable's place in the lineup in [Claude Fable pricing](/claude-fable-pricing).

## Claude without an API key

Poly (usepoly.co) runs Claude, GPT, Grok and Muse for a whole team in one shared room, billed as credits per person, so nobody needs an API key or a usage tier. Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5 are free to start. [What is Poly?](/what-is-poly)

## Common questions

**How much does the Claude API cost?**

Per million input and output tokens: Opus 5.5 $4 and $20, Sonnet 5.5 $2 and $10, Haiku 5.5 $0.10 and $0.50, and Fable 5.1 $10 and $50. Caching and the Batch API lower it.

**How much does Claude Opus 5.5 cost?**

$4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens on Anthropic's API, $2 and $10 through the Batch API, and $8 and $40 in fast mode. Cache reads cost $0.20 per million.

**Is there a free Claude API tier?**

New accounts get a small amount of free credit, without a published amount, and may start in an evaluation tier with lower limits. After that the API is pay as you go.

**Does Claude charge more for 1 million token prompts?**

Not on Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 or Fable 5.1, which include the full 1 million token window at the standard price. Haiku 5.5 costs five times as much above 100,000 tokens.

**Is the Claude API cheaper than a Claude subscription?**

For daily Claude Code use, usually not: Anthropic estimates about $13 per active day at API prices, against $20 a month for Pro. For apps, automation and occasional jobs, the API is the usual choice.

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