Anthropic just made its flagship model obsolete for most users. The company launched Claude Opus 5, a model delivering near-Fable 5 performance at half the price. Therefore, Claude Opus 5 represents a direct challenge to premium pricing that has defined the AI market.

Claude Opus 5 excels at knowledge work and complex coding. The model outperforms Opus 4.8 significantly on scientific research tasks. Additionally, it predicts how protein sequence changes affect molecular function. Moreover, these improvements translate to practical advantages across industries.

Reduced Deceptive Behavior

Anthropic strengthened Claude Opus 5 against manipulation attempts. The company claims the model shows its lowest deceptive behavior levels ever recorded. Unlike Mythos, which restricts access through Project Glasswing, Claude Opus 5 wasn’t specifically trained on cybersecurity tasks.

Still, the model handles security work better than predecessors. However, it remains substantially behind Fable 5 for exploiting vulnerabilities. Therefore, Claude Opus 5 identifies security gaps more effectively but cannot weaponize findings.

Fewer Restrictions for Legitimate Use

Anthropic expects Claude Opus 5 to become the everyday workhorse. Some users complained that Fable 5 routed certain prompts to older Opus 4.8 due to safety restrictions. Claude Opus 5 removes this friction point.

The model’s safeguards support legitimate cybersecurity and biology work. Internal testing shows safety classifiers intervene 85% less often than with Fable 5. Therefore, researchers and developers gain access to powerful capabilities without constant friction.

Claude Opus 5 doesn’t follow Fable 5’s 30-day data retention policy. This represents another practical advantage for users handling sensitive information.

Pricing and Availability

Anthropic kept Claude Opus 5 API pricing unchanged. Input tokens cost $5 per million, while outputs cost $25 per million. However, a new “effort” setting lets users choose between thorough reasoning or speed.

Claude Opus 5 comes included with all paid subscription plans. Therefore, existing customers gain access immediately without additional cost.

Competition intensifies as Chinese company Moonshot AI recently launched Kimi K3 at comparable pricing. However, Claude Opus 5 remains available across all tiers, while Kimi’s subscriptions are currently closed to new users.

Finally, Claude Opus 5 represents Anthropic’s strategy to capture everyday users while reserving Fable 5 for specialized applications.