The value option for agent work: close to Opus 4.8 by Anthropic's account, on Free and Pro, with API pricing at $2/$10.

Kenning's take

What it does

Claude Sonnet 5 is a mid-sized model built for agent work: planning, using tools such as browsers and terminals, and running on its own. Anthropic says its performance is close to Opus 4.8 at lower prices. It launched on all Claude plans as the default for Free and Pro, and its $2/$10 per million token API price was later made permanent.

• Planning and tool use with browsers and terminals
• Performance close to Opus 4.8
• Default model for Free and Pro at launch
• Lower rate of undesirable behaviour than Sonnet 4.6

Who it suits. Claude users and developers who want strong coding and agent performance at lower cost.

Key facts

Category

AI models

Part of

Claude

Made by

Anthropic

Based in

United States

Released

30 June 2026

How to get it

launched on all Claude plans including Free; in the API as claude-sonnet-5 and on major cloud platforms

Works on

Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, API

In the UK

Yes

Free plan

launched as the default model on the Claude Free plan

API price

$2 per million input tokens, $10 per million output tokens

FAQ

Facts from the maker's own pages and the sources listed. Checked 2026-10-11.