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Anthropic offers three distinct Claude model tiers, each engineered for different development scenarios. Choosing the right one saves money and improves output quality. Here is a side-by-side look at the current lineup.
| Feature | Haiku 4.5 | Sonnet 4.6 | Opus 4.6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.80 / 1M tokens | $3 / 1M tokens | $15 / 1M tokens |
| Output price | $4 / 1M tokens | $15 / 1M tokens | $75 / 1M tokens |
| Context window | 200K tokens | 200K tokens | 200K tokens |
| Speed (tokens/sec) | Very fast | Fast | Moderate |
| Code quality | Good | Excellent | Best-in-class |
| Complex reasoning | Basic | Strong | State of the art |
| Best for | Autocomplete, quick lookups, test gen | Daily coding, features, bug fixes | Architecture, refactoring, system design |
Pricing is based on Anthropic's published API rates as of April 2026. If you use Claude Code via the Max subscription ($100/month or $200/month), token costs are bundled into your plan, but model selection still affects response speed and quality.
Haiku is Anthropic's fastest and most affordable model. It excels at tasks that require rapid iteration: autocomplete suggestions, quick file lookups, generating boilerplate tests, and answering simple factual questions about your codebase. If your workflow involves hundreds of small prompts per day, Haiku keeps costs below $5/month for most solo developers. The tradeoff is reduced reasoning depth. Haiku can miss subtle bugs in complex logic and may struggle with multi-file refactoring that requires understanding architectural patterns. Use it for volume, not for depth.
Sonnet sits in the sweet spot for most Claude Code users. It handles feature implementation, bug fixes, code review, and test writing with high accuracy and at a reasonable cost. Most teams find that Sonnet covers 80-90% of their daily development needs without breaking the budget. Sonnet 4.6 introduced meaningful improvements over 4.5 in multi-step reasoning and adherence to project conventions specified in CLAUDE.md. It reads and follows style guides, understands framework-specific patterns, and produces code that generally fits into existing codebases without heavy editing. For teams spending $20-60/month per developer, Sonnet delivers the best value.
Opus is the most capable model in the Claude lineup and commands a premium price. It shines in scenarios that demand deep reasoning: designing system architecture from scratch, refactoring tangled legacy code, debugging race conditions, and writing complex algorithms. The quality difference between Opus and Sonnet becomes apparent when tasks exceed 200 lines of interconnected code or require reasoning across more than five files simultaneously. Enterprise teams use Opus for architecture reviews and security audits where missing a subtle issue has outsized consequences. For cost-conscious developers, the best strategy is to use Sonnet for daily work and switch to Opus only when a task genuinely requires its reasoning depth.
/model command lets you switch models mid-session without losing context./model slash command within any Claude Code session to switch models instantly. You can also set a default model in your CLAUDE.md file by adding a "Model Configuration" section. When using the API directly, specify the model ID in your request: claude-sonnet-4-6-20260401, claude-opus-4-6-20260401, or claude-haiku-4-5-20241022.