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opus 5 vs opus 5.5
We pit Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 head-to-head on three brutal reasoning problems: same answers, 43–69% cheaper runs, and roughly 11% faster output.
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The Real Gap Between Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5
Anthropic markets Opus 5.5 as the cheaper, quicker successor to Opus 5. We put those claims under the microscope on genuine reasoning workloads to see whether they survive.
- The Vendor Promises: Cheaper and QuickerThe pitch is a bill trimmed by 40%, generation more than 30% faster, and reasoning on par with Claude Fable 5.1 instead of lagging behind Opus 5.
- Token Rates for Each ModelOpus 5.5 charges $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million generated, versus $5 and $25 before — roughly a fifth off the bill before any token savings.
- How We Benchmarked Both ModelsThe same prompts went to each model through the Anthropic API, adaptive thinking left at default effort, with a single run per problem per model.
Test Setup: Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 in Three Rounds
Three punishing reasoning problems, one attempt per model, with tokens, latency, and list-price spend recorded on every single call.
Head-to-Head: Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 Scorecard
Every metric from the Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 runs — spend, token volume, writing pace, and the points where each model broke down.
Logic Grid Correctness
Both models filled all 28 grid cells correctly, though Opus 5.5 added a caveat that it had not strictly proven the solution was the only one.
Writing Fewer Tokens
On the stone game Opus 5.5 emitted 62% fewer output tokens, and on the logic grid it landed 43% cheaper — largely by saying less.
Generation Throughput
Averaged over every call, Opus 5.5 produced 103.4 tokens per second against 93.1 for Opus 5 — about 11% quicker, peaking at a 19% lead on a single problem.
Spend on Each Task
The logic grid ran $0.16 against $0.27, and the stone game $0.58 against $1.88, bringing the whole experiment to $10.50 in list-price spend.
Where Both Models Stumble
The ordering puzzle beat both of them: each could burn roughly 20 minutes thinking and hand back nothing, and Opus 5.5 closed on a refusal stop reason.
Reach for a Code Tool
For anything that really boils down to counting — the ordering test included — give the model a code execution tool instead of hoping it reasons its way to the number.
Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 — Your Questions Answered
Straight answers on Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 pricing, writing speed, reasoning quality, and the odd refusal we ran into.
Does Opus 5.5 cost less than Opus 5?
It does. The logic grid came in 43% cheaper and the stone game 69% cheaper, largely because Opus 5.5 generated fewer output tokens.
How much faster is Opus 5.5?
About 11% faster measured across all calls, with a 19% best-case edge on a single problem — still short of the 30% figure Anthropic promotes.
Is Opus 5.5 smarter at reasoning?
Not on these tests. The two were indistinguishable across all three problems: both solved the logic grid and the stone game, and both failed the constrained orderings puzzle.
Why did Opus 5.5 refuse a benign prompt?
It ended the ordering task with a refusal stop reason and no text at all, which looks like a safety filter misfiring on a harmless request.
Is it worth migrating to Opus 5.5?
If you already run Opus 5, yes — the reasoning answers stay identical while the bill and the wait both shrink. Just cap the output length first.
How can I keep spending under control on tough problems?
Set a hard ceiling on output tokens and watch spend closely, because either model can think for around 20 minutes, return nothing, and still bill you.
Reproduce the Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 Benchmark Yourself
Grab the shared prompts, point both models at your own infrastructure, then adopt Opus 5.5 with a strict output cap to lock in the savings and the speed.