text model comparison
Claude Opus 5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol
Claude Opus 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol are both current text models, from Anthropic and OpenAI. GPT-5.6 Sol is 20% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Claude Opus 5, $4 vs $5. On Arena Text, Claude Opus 5 scores 1490 Elo and GPT-5.6 Sol 1485 Elo (Arena, measured October 8, 2026). GPT-5.6 Sol has the larger context window, 1,050,000 vs 1,000,000 tokens.
Data verified October 12, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-12
Side by side
Standard-tier prices in effect today. The better value in each row is highlighted.
| Fact | Claude Opus 5 | GPT-5.6 Sol |
|---|---|---|
| Price per 1M input tokens | $5 | $4 (better) |
| Price per 1M output tokens | $25 | $20 (better) |
| Cost of 10M input and 2M output tokens | $100 | $80 (better) |
| Arena Text | 1490 Elo (#6 of 39) (better) | 1485 Elo (#10 of 39) |
| GPQA Diamond | 93.9% (#10 of 37) (better) | 93.5% (#11 of 37) |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) | 85.6% (#10 of 37) | 89.1% (#6 of 37) (better) |
| SimpleQA Verified | 59.9% (#15 of 34) | 69.7% (#7 of 34) (better) |
| Provider | Anthropic | OpenAI |
| Release date | July 24, 2026 | July 9, 2026 |
| Access | API only | API only |
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,050,000 tokens |
| Max output | 128,000 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Input | text, image | text, image |
| Output | text | text |
When to choose each
Claude Opus 5
Best for
- Complex agentic coding and enterprise work as the general-purpose default before reaching for Fable 5.1
- Latency-sensitive work that can justify Fast mode pricing
Watch out for
- Fast mode pricing applies to the whole request, including above 200K input tokens, so it doubles the effective rate rather than adding a surcharge
- Cache reads are $0.50 per million (the standard 0.1x), five times Fable 5.1’s $0.25, even though Opus 5 is the cheaper model on base tokens. A cache-heavy agent loop can invert the expected cost ordering between the two.
GPT-5.6 Sol
Best for
- Frontier capability evaluations for complex API workflows
- Long-horizon coding and research agents that use computer use or MCP tools
Watch out for
- Not in the pinned LiveBench snapshot; its independent scores here come from Epoch AI's own GPQA Diamond, FrontierMath and SimpleQA Verified runs
Claude Opus 5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol FAQ
Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 5 or GPT-5.6 Sol?
GPT-5.6 Sol is 20% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Claude Opus 5, $4 vs $5. For 10M input and 2M output tokens, Claude Opus 5 costs $100 and GPT-5.6 Sol $80 at standard rates.
Which scores higher on independent benchmarks, Claude Opus 5 or GPT-5.6 Sol?
Claude Opus 5 leads on Arena Text, 1490 Elo to 1485 Elo; Claude Opus 5 leads on GPQA Diamond, 93.9% to 93.5%; GPT-5.6 Sol leads on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2), 89.1% to 85.6%. Scores are independent evaluations, not either vendor's launch figures.
Which has the larger context window, Claude Opus 5 or GPT-5.6 Sol?
GPT-5.6 Sol has the larger context window, 1,050,000 vs 1,000,000 tokens.
Related comparisons
Production evaluation
Choosing between Claude Opus 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol?
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- A head-to-head evaluation on your real workload
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