Claude Fable 5 vs Claude Opus 4.6

Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.

Claude Opus 4.6 by Anthropic wins on 6 of 11 benchmarks against Claude Fable 5 by Anthropic, which leads on 4. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from our benchmark data.

Category-by-Category Breakdown

Coding: In coding, Claude Fable 5 scores 95.0% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 80.8%, while Claude Fable 5 scores 1334 on Design Arena ELO compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 1289, while Claude Fable 5 scores 1309 on Website Arena ELO compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 1298.

Reasoning: In reasoning, Claude Opus 4.6 scores 85.3% on GPQA Diamond compared to Claude Fable 5's 83.8%, while Claude Fable 5 scores 80.2% on τ²-Bench Airline compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 75.7%.

Context: In context, both score 1.0M on Context Length.

Pricing Comparison

Claude Fable 5 costs $10.0/1M input tokens and $50.0/1M output tokens, while Claude Opus 4.6 costs $5.0/1M input and $25.0/1M output. Claude Opus 4.6 is the more affordable option for API usage.

Speed Comparison

Claude Fable 5 generates output at 60 tok/s compared to Claude Opus 4.6's 68 tok/s, and the time to first token is 81680 ms for Claude Fable 5 versus 1680 ms for Claude Opus 4.6. Claude Opus 4.6 delivers faster throughput.

Verdict

For developers prioritizing coding, Claude Fable 5 has the edge. For those who value affordability and speed, Claude Opus 4.6 is the stronger choice.

Claude Fable 5 vs Claude Opus 4.6 — FAQ

Which is better, Claude Fable 5 or Claude Opus 4.6?

Claude Opus 4.6 wins on more benchmarks overall (6 vs 4). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.

How does Claude Fable 5 compare to Claude Opus 4.6 for coding?

Claude Fable 5 is better for coding, scoring 95.0% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 80.8%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.

Is Claude Fable 5 cheaper than Claude Opus 4.6?

Yes, Claude Opus 4.6 is cheaper. Claude Fable 5 costs $10.0/1M input and $50.0/1M output tokens. Claude Opus 4.6 costs $5.0/1M input and $25.0/1M output tokens.

Which is faster, Claude Fable 5 or Claude Opus 4.6?

Claude Opus 4.6 is faster, generating output at 68 tok/s compared to 60 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.

What benchmarks does the Claude Fable 5 vs Claude Opus 4.6 comparison cover?

This comparison covers 11 benchmarks including SWE-bench Verified, GPQA Diamond, Output Speed, Time to First Token, Input Cost, Output Cost, Context Length, Cached Input Cost, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.