# Claude Opus 5 launches with similar performance as Fable 5 for ‘half the price’

> Source: <https://9to5google.com/2026/07/24/anthropic-launches-claude-opus-5/>
> Published: 2026-07-24 18:34:50+00:00

Anthropic says its Claude Opus 5 AI model is an improvement that takes less effort to deliver similar results as the nearly-banned Fable 5.

Claude Opus 5 is [available now](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-5) as the next version of what used to be Anthropic’s highest performer. When Fable 5 was [released](https://9to5google.com/2026/06/09/anthropic-claude-mythos-fable-5-model-release/), recalled, then [released again](https://9to5google.com/2026/07/01/anthropic-fable-5-returns-to-claude/), it sat above Opus 4.8 in terms of pure performance.

The margins have shifted slightly. Claude Opus 5 reportedly costs half the price of Fable 5, yet it delivers results that are similar in performance. Benchmarks released by Anthropic detail the disparity. It looks like Fable 5 is slightly better in a few areas, but the difference is narrow. In areas like business workflows, computer use, and agentic research, Claude Opus 5 performs better.

Fable 5 is famously a token-monster, too. Anthropic says it improved the Opus model, all while keeping the costs similar to what users were used to with Opus 4.8. Anthropic also notes that even when Opus 5 runs at minimal effort, it still succeeds in more tasks than other models at high effort when working through business workflows.

Fable 5 is currently available to users, but it carries heavier restrictions. The new Opus 5 release, though, is expected to intervene around 85% less often. Fable 5 is still king in terms of highly advanced tasks in cybersecurity exploitation and biology, but Opus 5 is expected to present a much more capable model to the broader user base.

Opus 5 is available on all platforms starting today.

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