Claude Opus 4.8 is now a historical integration and benchmark reference. It remains available, but Claude Opus 5 replaced it as the practical premium Claude baseline on July 24, 2026.
Do not use this page to justify new default routing to Opus 4.8. Use it when maintaining a pinned integration or reading dated comparisons; test Sonnet 5 first for routine work and Opus 5 for consequential premium passes.
Quick Facts
| Spec | Claude Opus 4.8 |
|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic |
| Model family | Claude Opus |
| Context | 1M-class in current Claude docs |
| API pricing | $5 input / $25 output per 1M tokens |
| Batch pricing | $2.50 input / $12.50 output per 1M tokens |
| Independent signal | Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index 56; 57.3 output tokens/s at max effort in the current v4.1 snapshot |
| Best use | Historical comparison and pinned integrations |
| Caveat | Superseded by Opus 5 for current premium routing |
Where Opus Fits
Start with cheaper or flatter-rate lanes when the work is routine:
| Workload | Start with | Escalate to Opus 4.8 when… |
|---|---|---|
| Routine edits | Sonnet 5, GLM-5.2, Kimi K2.7 Code | The first model misses behavior or introduces risky churn |
| Repo audit | GLM-5.2 or MiniMax M3 when 1M context helps | The answer needs premium reasoning or a final risk review |
| Code review | GLM-5.2, Sonnet, or GPT-5.5 depending on tool fit | You need a high-confidence second pass |
| Migration planning | GPT-5.5, GLM-5.2, or Sonnet | Architecture tradeoffs are unclear or expensive to reverse |
| Compliance-sensitive analysis | Approved provider path first | Claude terms and retention meet the workload’s policy needs |
GLM-5.2 Comparison
Opus 4.8 was the premium Claude reference point for this comparison. The historical API cost gap was large:
| Model | Input / output per 1M | Cost read |
|---|---|---|
| GLM-5.2 | $1.40 / $4.40 | 72% lower input and 82.4% lower output than Opus 4.8 |
| Claude Opus 4.8 | $5.00 / $25.00 | Premium review and arbitration lane |
This is why GLM-5.2 is the July value pick to test. The test is not “does GLM win a chart?” The test is “does GLM solve your routine repo tasks well enough that Opus can move to final review?”
Subscription comparisons need a separate label. A $18 GLM Coding Lite plan is about 91% lower than a $200 Claude Max plan, but that is subscription math, not API pricing. Keep the lanes separate.
What Not To Claim
- Do not call GLM-5.2 an Opus replacement without AIHackers-owned repo evals.
- Do not treat “90% cheaper” as API pricing.
- Do not route Fable as a normal premium alternative merely because access is restored; verify safeguards, retention, and cost. Mythos remains trusted-access only.
- Do not use Opus 4.5 benchmark rows as the current Claude baseline.
Current Benchmark Evidence
benchmark artifact
Opus 4.8 Against Active and Restricted Lanes
| Model | Provider | Status | Context | Input price | Output price | Coding signal | Tool-use signal | Benchmark evidence | Speed | Verdict | Sources | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 5 | Anthropic | active Generally available across Claude plans, Claude Code, the Claude API, GitHub Copilot, and supported AWS paths. | 1M | $2.00 / 1M | $10.00 / 1M | Anthropic reports substantial coding and agentic gains over Sonnet 4.6; independent normalized results are pending. | Available in Claude Code and the Claude API; adaptive thinking is on by default. |
| No site-owned normalized latency result is verified. | First Claude cost/performance test before Opus 5; escalate only when the premium pass changes the accepted result. | Anthropic Claude Sonnet 5 launch [archive], Claude Sonnet 5 migration guide [archive], GitHub Copilot Claude Sonnet 5 launch [archive], Claude Sonnet 5 on AWS [archive], Artificial Analysis: Claude Opus 5 [archive] | 2026-07-25 |
| Claude Opus 4.8 | Anthropic | historical Still available, but superseded by Opus 5 for current premium comparisons. | 1M | $5.00 / 1M | $25.00 / 1M | Historical premium Claude baseline; use Opus 5 for new task-level comparisons. | Still available for pinned integrations; new Claude premium routing should test Opus 5. |
| Artificial Analysis measured 57.3 output tokens/s; provider and workload latency vary. | Historical premium baseline. Use Claude Opus 5 for current Claude premium routing. | Claude models overview [archive], Claude API pricing [archive], Artificial Analysis: Claude Opus 4.8 [archive], Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v4.1, LMArena leaderboard dataset, Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboard | 2026-07-25 |
| Claude Fable 5 | Anthropic | active Generally available; temporary subscription allowances ended July 7 and current subscription use is through usage credits. | 1M | $10.00 / 1M | $50.00 / 1M | Anthropic reports frontier launch results; independent reproducible ranking is pending. | Guarded-domain requests can refuse or fall back; verify account behavior before routing. |
| Task latency varies; compare complete-task runtime before escalation. | High-cost guarded escalation only; use Opus 5 as the practical Claude premium baseline. | Claude models overview [archive], Claude API pricing [archive], Anthropic Fable 5 and Mythos 5 [archive], Anthropic Fable/Mythos access statement [archive], Anthropic Fable 5 redeployment [archive], Artificial Analysis: Claude Opus 5 [archive], Artificial Analysis: Claude Opus 5 on AA-Briefcase [archive] | 2026-07-25 |
| GPT-5.5 | OpenAI | active Generally available prior-generation OpenAI model retained for existing integrations and comparisons. | 1.05M API; 400K Codex | $5.00 / 1M | $30.00 / 1M | not verified | not verified | not verified | not verified | Primary coding seat while ChatGPT/Codex limits fit the workload. | OpenAI GPT-5.5 API model page, OpenAI GPT-5.5 ChatGPT limits, Artificial Analysis: GPT-5.5, LMArena leaderboard dataset | 2026-06-28 |
| GLM-5.2 | Z.AI | active Current Z.AI flagship coding model and supported-tool value lane. | 1M | $1.40 / 1M | $4.40 / 1M | Z.AI reports 62.1 on SWE-Bench Pro and 81.0 on Terminal-Bench 2.1. | Supported-tool coding lane; BFCL score not imported. |
| Artificial Analysis flags higher output-token use; measure total cost per successful task. | July value pick to test for supported coding-tool workflows; keep Opus/GPT for final arbitration until local evals pass. | Z.AI GLM-5.2 overview [archive], Z.AI pricing [archive], Artificial Analysis: GLM-5.2 article [archive], Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v4.1, SWE-bench, Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboard | 2026-06-28 |
| Kimi K2.7 Code | Moonshot AI | active Cheaper routine Kimi coding API lane; HighSpeed is the same model at higher token prices. | 256K | $0.95 / 1M | $4.00 / 1M | Kimi K2.7 Code remains the lower-cost 256K coding lane after K3; independent normalized benchmarks are not imported. | OpenAI-compatible API; thinking mode required in the documented K2.7 Code quickstart. |
| HighSpeed model ID exists at a higher token price; latency not independently measured here. | Cheaper routine Kimi coding API lane when Kimi routing fits and 256K context is enough. | Kimi K2.7 Code quickstart [archive], Kimi K2.7 Code pricing [archive], Kimi Code K2.7 release notes [archive], SWE-bench, Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboard | 2026-06-28 |
Artificial Analysis values are independent signals; Z.AI and Kimi coding claims remain vendor-labeled. AIHackers-owned cost-per-successful-task results are not yet verified.
Eval Pairing
Use the same task through both lanes:
| Test | GLM-5.2 pass signal | Opus 4.8 role |
|---|---|---|
| Real bug | Correct patch, minimal churn, tests run or clearly scoped | Arbitration if GLM misses behavior |
| Refactor | Preserves local conventions across 2-4 files | Architecture review |
| Long-context audit | Accurate repo map without invented files | High-confidence risk pass |
| Review | Concrete file-grounded findings | Final review before merge |
If GLM-5.2 passes routine tasks, keep Opus for the cases where the premium pass visibly changes the outcome.
Related links
- /models/glm-5.2/ - July value coding model to test
- /compare/models/premium/ - premium escalation ladder
- /compare/models/mid-range/ - production spend-band routing
- /value/smart-spend/ - low-cost upgrade strategy
- /posts/claude-fable-5-mythos-5-cost-guardrails/ - Fable restoration, cost, retention, and guardrail context
Sources
- Claude API pricing (Archive)
- Claude models overview (Archive)
- Artificial Analysis GLM-5.2 article
- Artificial Analysis Claude Opus 4.8 (July 11 archive; fresh v4.1 archive pending after an HTTP 520 save response on July 18)
- Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v4.1 methodology
- Anthropic Claude Opus 5 launch (Archive)
Last verified: July 25, 2026. Opus 4.8 remains available but is no longer the current premium comparison baseline.