None
None
Long Story Video Skill
Turn your idea into 10s–10min video—AI writes scripts, prompts, and generates footage automatically.
Ads Video Skill
Generate professional ads and sales videos—AI auto-generates scripts, prompts, and footage.
3D Science Explainer Video Skill
Convert scientific concepts into stunning 3D explain animations
Feedback
freeTrialImage.bannerPity
freeTrialImage.upgradeUnlock
- ✓freeTrialImage.benefitHd
- ✓freeTrialImage.benefitWatermark
- ✓freeTrialImage.benefitUnlimited
opus 5 vs opus 5.5
Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5: same hard reasoning, smaller bills and quicker token streams. We ran three logic tests so you can see the real numbers.
All Tools
Discover our comprehensive AI-powered animation toolkit
MiniMax H3
MiniMax H3 AI Video Generator
Seedance 2.5
The Future of AI Video Is Here.
Seedance 2.0
The Future of AI Video Is Here.
Seedance 2.0
The Future of AI Video Is Here.
AI Multi-Scene Shorts Generator
Create viral AI Shorts instantly
3D Science Video
Create 3D science videos easily
Suno AI Music Generator
Create Professional Music with AI
Free GPT Image 2.5
Next-generation image creator
Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5: What Changes for You
Anthropic says the newer model trims the bill and writes faster. We put both through the same API calls to see whether those promises survive contact with hard problems.
- The Vendor's Cost and Speed PitchThe sales pitch promises a bill roughly 40% lighter, generation over 30% quicker, and reasoning that keeps pace with Claude Fable 5.1 rather than falling behind Opus 5.
- What the Price List SaysEach million input tokens now bills $4 and each million output tokens $20, replacing $5 and $25 — that alone accounts for a 20% saving.
- How We Tested ReasoningBoth models received the same prompts through the Anthropic API, adaptive thinking at default effort, one attempt per problem per model.
Running the Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 Trials Step by Step
Each model faced the same three punishing problems once, and every call recorded token counts, wall-clock time and list-price spend.
Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5: The Scorecard
Spend, token output, writing pace and breakdowns, all recorded during the Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 reasoning runs.
Logic Grid: Both Correct
All 28 grid cells landed right for each model; the newer one appended a caveat that it had not fully proven the answer was unique.
Fewer Output Tokens
On the stone game Opus 5.5 emitted 62% fewer output tokens, and it cost 43% less on the logic grid, mainly by writing less.
Faster Token Streaming
Across all calls Opus 5.5 hit 103.4 tokens per second versus 93.1, about 11% quicker, with a 19% best-case lead on a single problem.
Per-Problem Spend
Logic grid: $0.16 against $0.27. Stone game: $0.58 against $1.88. Total outlay for the whole test was $10.50.
Where Both Models Broke
The ordering puzzle beat both: each can spend about 20 minutes thinking and return nothing, and Opus 5.5 ended on a refusal stop reason.
When to Hand Over a Code Tool
If the task is really counting — the ordering test included — give the model a code execution tool instead of trusting it to reason to the number.
Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 Questions, Answered
Straight answers on pricing, streaming speed and reasoning quality for Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5.
Does Opus 5.5 cost less than Opus 5?
Yes. It ran 43% cheaper on the logic grid and 69% cheaper on the stone game, largely because it produced fewer output tokens.
Does Opus 5.5 stream faster than Opus 5?
Yes, about 11% quicker overall, with a 19% margin on its best single problem — still under the 30% Anthropic advertises.
Is Opus 5.5 smarter at hard reasoning?
Not measurably. Across the three problems the pair were indistinguishable: both solved the logic grid and the stone game, and both returned nothing on the constrained orderings puzzle.
Why did Opus 5.5 refuse a harmless request?
On the ordering test it ended with a refusal stop reason and no text, most likely a safety filter misreading a benign request.
Should I move from Opus 5 to Opus 5.5?
If you already run Opus 5, yes: reasoning answers stay the same while bills and waits shrink — just set a hard output cap first.
How can I keep hard-problem costs in check?
Cap output hard and watch spend, because either model may think for around 20 minutes, return nothing, and still bill you for tokens.
Run the Opus 5 vs Opus 5.5 Trials on Your Own Data
Grab the published prompts, fire them at both models in your own stack, then move to Opus 5.5 with an output cap to lock in the savings and speed.