Models — Opus, Sonnet, Haiku
Last verified: 13 February 2026 | Applies to: All plans
In 30 seconds
Section titled “In 30 seconds”Claude comes in three models: Opus 4.6 (most capable, highest cost), Sonnet 4.5 (balanced performance and speed), and Haiku 4.5 (fastest, lowest cost). Most operators should default to Sonnet for everyday work and switch to Opus for complex analysis. Haiku is for high-volume, simple tasks where speed matters more than depth.
The three models
Section titled “The three models”| Opus 4.6 | Sonnet 4.5 | Haiku 4.5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | Highest — complex reasoning, nuanced analysis, long-form content | Strong — handles most business tasks well | Basic — good for simple, fast tasks |
| Speed | Slowest | Moderate | Fastest |
| Cost (usage) | Highest per-message usage | Moderate | Lowest |
| Context window | 200K tokens (default). 1M in beta (requires tier 4 API access). | 200K tokens | 200K tokens |
| Best for | Complex analysis, strategy, multi-step reasoning, long documents | Everyday work, drafting, data processing, most operator tasks | Quick lookups, simple formatting, high-volume repetitive tasks |
When to use each model
Section titled “When to use each model”Default to Sonnet 4.5 for:
- Drafting emails, reports, and documents
- Analysing spreadsheets and data
- Using plugins for standard workflows
- Most Cowork tasks
- Day-to-day chat conversations
Switch to Opus 4.6 for:
- Complex financial analysis or legal review
- Strategy documents that need nuanced thinking
- Processing very long documents (contracts, regulatory filings)
- Tasks where accuracy is critical and speed is secondary
- When Sonnet’s output isn’t quite good enough
Use Haiku 4.5 for:
- Quick questions with straightforward answers
- Simple formatting or conversion tasks
- High-volume tasks where you need speed (e.g., categorising many items)
- Claude in Chrome on the Pro plan (Haiku is the only option)
Model access by plan
Section titled “Model access by plan”| Plan | Chat models | Chrome models | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5 | — | No Chrome access |
| Pro | Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5 | Haiku 4.5 only | Chrome limited to Haiku |
| Max | Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5 | Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5 | Full Chrome model choice |
| Team | Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5 | Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5 | Full Chrome model choice |
| Enterprise | Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5 | Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5 | Full Chrome model choice |
Context windows explained
Section titled “Context windows explained”A context window is how much text Claude can process in a single conversation. 200K tokens is roughly 150,000 words — enough for most business documents.
Opus 4.6’s 1M token context is available in beta only and requires tier 4 API access with a special header. For most operators using Claude through the standard interface, the 200K default applies. Don’t choose Opus solely for context window size unless you’ve confirmed you have beta access.
How operators think about this
Section titled “How operators think about this”“I just want it to work well.” Use Sonnet. It handles 90% of operator tasks competently and responds faster than Opus.
“I need the best possible output for this specific task.” Switch to Opus for that conversation. You can change models per conversation — you don’t need to commit to one.
“My team is burning through usage too fast.” Have team members default to Haiku for simple tasks and Sonnet for real work. Reserve Opus for tasks that genuinely need it. See Cost Management.
“Claude in Chrome isn’t smart enough on my Pro plan.” That’s because Pro limits Chrome to Haiku 4.5. If you need Chrome for complex automation, upgrade to Max for Sonnet/Opus access in the browser.
Related
Section titled “Related”- Choosing a Plan — model access varies by plan
- Claude in Chrome — Pro users are limited to Haiku 4.5
- Cost Management — optimising model usage across a team
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