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opus 5 vs opus 5.5
Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 benchmarked: both nail the same reasoning puzzles, yet the newer model slashes API spend and streams tokens quicker.
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Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5: Claims Versus Measurements
Anthropic markets Opus 5.5 as the leaner, quicker sibling of Opus 5. Our hands-on runs put that promise to work on genuinely hard reasoning prompts.
- The Vendor's Price and Pace PromisesThe marketing line: bills drop about 40%, responses arrive over 30% sooner, and reasoning keeps pace with Claude Fable 5.1 instead of falling behind Opus 5.
- What the New Rate Card Looks LikePer million tokens, Opus 5.5 charges $4 in and $20 out, against $5 and $25 before — a rate cut that trims roughly a fifth off the bill by itself.
- How We Benchmarked Both ModelsThe same prompts travelled to each model over the Anthropic API, adaptive thinking left at default effort, with a single run per puzzle per model.
Inside the Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 Test Setup
Three demanding puzzles, a single run apiece, and token counts, wall-clock time plus list-price cost recorded for each API call.
Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 Benchmark Scoreboard
Spend, token volume, writing throughput, and breakdown patterns captured during every run of the two Opus models.
Grid Accuracy: Dead Heat
All 28 cells of the grid were filled correctly by both models; Opus 5.5 merely flagged that it had not fully proven the solution was unique.
Fewer Tokens Written
On the stone game Opus 5.5 emitted 62% fewer output tokens, and on the logic grid it cost 43% less — savings that trace back to saying less.
Streaming Throughput
Averaged over every call, Opus 5.5 streamed 103.4 tokens per second versus 93.1 for Opus 5 — roughly 11% quicker, peaking at a 19% edge on one problem.
Spend Per Puzzle
The logic grid ran $0.16 against $0.27, and the stone game $0.58 against $1.88; the whole experiment finished at $10.50.
Where Both Models Stalled
The ordering task beat them both: each could spend about 20 minutes reasoning and return empty text, and Opus 5.5 ended on a refusal stop reason.
Reach for a Code Tool on Counting
If the job boils down to counting, as the ordering test did, give the model a code execution tool instead of expecting it to reason its way to the figure.
Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5: Questions Answered
Straight answers on rates, streaming speed, and how each model copes with genuinely hard reasoning work.
Does Opus 5.5 really cost less than Opus 5?
It does. The logic grid ran 43% cheaper and the stone game 69% cheaper, an advantage that comes mainly from emitting fewer output tokens.
Does Opus 5.5 stream tokens more quickly?
About 11% faster on average, topping out at a 19% gap on one puzzle — respectable, though below the 30% figure Anthropic advertises.
Is Opus 5.5 smarter at hard reasoning?
Not on this evidence. The pair proved indistinguishable across all three puzzles: both solved the grid and the stone game, and both returned nothing on the ordering task.
Why did Opus 5.5 decline an innocent request?
During the ordering test it finished with a refusal stop reason and no output — most likely a safety filter misfiring on an entirely benign prompt.
Is it worth migrating to Opus 5.5?
If the older release is your daily driver, the switch pays off: reasoning quality holds while cost and waiting time fall — set a firm output ceiling before you move.
How can I keep spending in check on tough prompts?
Cap output tokens and monitor usage closely: either model can think for roughly 20 minutes, return nothing useful, and still bill you for every token.
Run Your Own Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 Experiment
Take the prompts above, point both models at your own workload, and migrate to Opus 5.5 behind a firm output cap to lock in the savings and speed.