Existing production workloads
Maintain a pinned model behavior while a team evaluates and validates migration to a newer Claude model.
Independent tool overview
Claude 4.5 Opus at a glance
Claude Opus 4.5 is Anthropic's November 2025 frontier model for coding, agents, computer use, research, and complex knowledge work; it remains API-active but is no longer the newest Opus model.
Visit the official Claude 4.5 Opus site ↗
- Released
- November 24, 2025
- API model ID
- claude-opus-4-5-20251101
- Current API status
- Active, but superseded by newer Opus models
- Standard API price
- $5 input / $25 output per million tokens
- Core strengths
- Coding, agents, tool use, computer use, and complex knowledge work
- Lifecycle note
- Retirement listed as no sooner than November 24, 2026
Overview
What Claude 4.5 Opus is
Claude Opus 4.5 launched in November 2025 as Anthropic's highest-capability model for software engineering, agentic workflows, computer use, research, and document-heavy knowledge work. Its pinned Claude API model ID is claude-opus-4-5-20251101, with availability also originally announced across Anthropic's apps and major cloud platforms.
The model introduced materially lower Opus pricing than earlier Opus releases at $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens. It supports text and image input, tool use, prompt caching, batch processing, structured outputs, and manual extended thinking. Its launch also emphasized better token efficiency on difficult coding and agent tasks.
Opus 4.5 remains active on Anthropic-operated API platforms as of this review, with retirement listed as no sooner than November 24, 2026. However, it has been superseded by later Opus generations, and Anthropic's current model guidance points new complex workloads to newer models. Existing teams should keep 4.5 only when regression results, behavior stability, or migration timing justify it.
Use cases
Who Claude 4.5 Opus is best for
The strongest fit depends on the job you need the product to complete, not the size of its feature list.
Complex coding and tool use
Handle repository-scale reasoning, debugging, refactoring, and multi-step tasks that were core targets of the release.
Historical benchmark comparison
Reproduce or compare results from systems and evaluations originally built around the November 2025 model snapshot.
Capabilities
Core Claude 4.5 Opus features
Pinned API snapshot
The dated model ID preserves a consistent underlying Opus 4.5 version for the lifetime of that API model.
Agentic coding
Designed for difficult software-engineering tasks, longer tool-using workflows, and planning across multiple systems.
Manual extended thinking
Supports the legacy thinking configuration with an explicit token budget rather than the adaptive-thinking interface used by newer models.
Multimodal and tool support
Accepts text and image inputs and can be integrated with client and server tools for application and computer-use workflows.
Efficiency controls
Supports prompt caching and 50%-discounted batch processing, with structured outputs available for schema-constrained responses.
Process
How the Claude 4.5 Opus workflow works
Step 1
Confirm the reason to stay
Use Opus 4.5 only when pinned behavior, validated quality, or migration constraints matter more than access to the newest model capabilities.
Step 2
Call the exact model ID
Use claude-opus-4-5-20251101 in the API and avoid assuming that newer adaptive-thinking configuration is compatible.
Step 3
Measure task-level results
Track accuracy, tool-call reliability, latency, input and output tokens, cache use, and failure cases on representative workloads.
Step 4
Test a successor
Run the same evaluation set against a newer Opus or a lower-cost Sonnet model, then migrate only after checking behavior and API differences.
Cost
Claude 4.5 Opus pricing and free plan
Claude Opus 4.5 API usage is metered by tokens. Standard global pricing is $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens; cache reads are cheaper, cache writes cost more than base input, and Batch API jobs receive a 50% input/output discount.
Standard API
$5 input / $25 output per MTok
Base global Claude API pricing for synchronous Opus 4.5 requests.
- Usage billed per token
- Input and output charged separately
- Cloud-platform pricing may differ
- Tool and feature-specific charges can apply
Prompt caching
$6.25 5-minute write / $10 1-hour write / $0.50 hit per MTok
Reduces repeated-input cost when stable prompt content can be cached.
- Cache writes cost more than base input
- Cache hits are 90% below base input pricing
- Savings depend on reuse
Batch API
$2.50 input / $12.50 output per MTok
For asynchronous workloads that do not require immediate responses.
- 50% discount on input and output
- Best for offline evaluation and bulk jobs
- Batch processing constraints apply
Pricing checked . Check current pricing at the source ↗
Assessment
Claude 4.5 Opus strengths and limitations
Where it stands out
- Strong coding, planning, tool-use, and computer-use capability for its generation
- Pinned model ID supports reproducible behavior for existing applications
- Substantially lower launch price than earlier Opus generations
- Prompt caching, batch processing, vision, and structured outputs broaden production use
What to consider
- It is no longer Anthropic's newest or recommended starting point for the most complex workloads
- Newer Claude models offer larger context windows, adaptive thinking, and other platform improvements
- Manual extended-thinking configuration differs from newer model APIs and adds migration work
- $25 per million output tokens remains expensive for verbose or high-volume workloads
- Model-generated code, tool calls, and computer actions still require tests, permissions, review, and rollback controls
Compare
Claude 4.5 Opus alternatives
The right alternative depends on the specific output, workflow, controls and budget your project requires.
Consumer
Claude Opus 4.8
A newer active Opus generation with a 1M-token context window, adaptive thinking, and the same standard $5/$25 token price.
Explore Claude Opus 4.8 →Consumer
Claude Sonnet 5
A newer, lower-cost Claude option for teams that prioritize speed and scale while retaining strong coding and agentic capability.
Explore Claude Sonnet 5 →Questions
Claude 4.5 Opus FAQs
Is Claude Opus 4.5 still available?
Yes. Anthropic lists claude-opus-4-5-20251101 as active on its operated API platforms, with retirement no sooner than November 24, 2026. Availability and timelines on partner cloud platforms can differ.
Is Claude Opus 4.5 the latest Claude model?
No. Anthropic has released multiple newer Opus models and now recommends newer generations for new high-capability workloads.
How much does the Claude Opus 4.5 API cost?
Standard global API pricing is $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens. Prompt caching and batch processing have separate rates, and partner-cloud charges can differ.
What is the Claude Opus 4.5 model ID?
The pinned Claude API model ID is claude-opus-4-5-20251101. Earlier Claude model IDs include a snapshot date so the underlying version remains fixed.
Should a new application use Claude Opus 4.5?
Usually not as the default choice. Start with Anthropic's current model guidance, then compare quality, latency, cost, and API behavior on your own evaluation set. Opus 4.5 is mainly compelling for compatibility with an existing validated deployment.
Bottom line
Our Claude 4.5 Opus verdict
Claude Opus 4.5 remains a supported and capable API model, but it is now best understood as a pinned compatibility option rather than the default frontier choice. Keep it when an existing application has proven behavior that has not yet been safely migrated; for new work, benchmark a current Opus and a cost-efficient Sonnet model first.
Visit Claude 4.5 Opus website ↗Similar Consumer Tools
View all Consumer AI tools →
Olmo 3
Olmo 3 - AI2's new family of open-source models — including the 32B 3-Think and Base that top benchmarks for open models of its size.
Shopping Research
Shopping Research - Personalized, interactive shopping experience directly in ChatGPT to find the perfect products
Gemini 3
Gemini 3 - Google's most intelligent model release to date, taking the top spot industry-wide across major benchmarks for multimodal understanding, agentic abilities, reasoning, and more.
Mistral 3
Mistral 3 - Mistral's next generation of open-source models including Small, Large, and Ministral variants.
AI training for the future of work.
Get access to all our AI courses, hundreds of real-world AI use cases, live expert-led workshops, an exclusive network of AI early adopters, and more.
AI Courses
Get unlimited access to all of our current & upcoming industry-specific AI courses for the duration of your subscription.
Daily Guides
To keep up with the rapid pace of AI, our team publishes AI implementation guides daily. Our library contains 300+ practical use cases to automate real-world work.
Workshops
Join weekly, live, interactive sessions with industry leaders who are at the forefront of AI for hands-on implementation guidance and exclusive insights.
Community
Network with an exclusive community of AI-first professionals who are working smarter with AI. Learn how early adopters are using AI in their work and businesses.