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Claude for Operators

Models: Opus, Sonnet, Haiku

Last verified: 14 April 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 4.6 (balanced performance and speed, and the best value for most operator tasks), and Haiku 4.5 (fastest, lowest cost). Most operators should default to Sonnet 4.6 for everyday work. Sonnet 4.6 actually beats Opus on real-world office tasks, so you may rarely need to switch. Haiku is for high-volume, simple tasks where speed matters more than depth.

The three models

Section titled “The three models”
Opus 4.6Sonnet 4.6Haiku 4.5
CapabilityHighest on complex coding and researchHighest on real-world office tasks (drafting, analysis, reporting)Basic, good for simple, fast tasks
SpeedSlowestModerateFastest
Cost (usage)Highest per-message usageModerateLowest
Context window1M tokens (GA, standard pricing)1M tokens (GA, standard pricing)200K tokens
Best forComplex coding, deep research, edge cases where Sonnet falls shortEveryday work, drafting, data processing, financial analysis, most operator tasksQuick lookups, simple formatting, high-volume repetitive tasks

When to use each model

Section titled “When to use each model”
graph TD
    A{What's the task?} -->|Simple and repetitive| C[Haiku 4.5]
    A -->|Complex coding or deep research| E[Try Sonnet 4.6 first]
    A -->|Everything else| F[Sonnet 4.6]
    E --> G{Output good enough?}
    G -->|Keep using Sonnet| F
    G -->|No| H[Opus 4.6]

Default to Sonnet 4.6 for:

  • Drafting emails, reports, and documents
  • Analysing spreadsheets and data
  • Financial analysis and reporting
  • Using plugins for standard workflows
  • Most Cowork tasks
  • Day-to-day chat conversations

Sonnet 4.6 scores higher than Opus 4.6 on real-world office task benchmarks (GDPval-AA) and agentic financial analysis, at one-fifth the cost per message. For most operator workflows, Sonnet 4.6 is now the best model for the money.

Switch to Opus 4.6 for:

  • Complex coding and software development
  • Deep research requiring extensive reasoning chains
  • Processing very long documents (contracts, regulatory filings)
  • Edge cases where Sonnet’s output isn’t quite good enough

Adaptive thinking (Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6): Both Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6 use adaptive thinking. Claude dynamically decides when and how much to think based on task complexity, using four effort levels (low, medium, high, max). Simple questions get a fast, direct response. Complex analysis triggers deeper reasoning automatically. This replaces the binary extended thinking toggle used by earlier models. You don’t need to manually switch thinking on. Claude handles this automatically. Haiku 4.5 does not have adaptive thinking.

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”
PlanChat modelsChrome modelsNotes
FreeSonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5—No Chrome access
ProOpus 4.6, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5Haiku 4.5 onlyChrome limited to Haiku
MaxOpus 4.6, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5Chrome not yet updated for Sonnet 4.6
TeamOpus 4.6, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5Chrome not yet updated for Sonnet 4.6
EnterpriseOpus 4.6, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5Chrome not yet updated for Sonnet 4.6

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.

1M token context is now generally available at standard pricing for both Opus 4.6 and Sonnet 4.6 (as of 13 March 2026). No beta header or special access required. The media limit has also increased from 100 to 600 images or PDF pages per request. Available on Max, Team, Enterprise, and API. Pro users can access 1M context in Claude Code via /extra-usage. 1M tokens is roughly 750,000 words, enough for an entire quarter’s financials or a complete contract set with amendments in a single conversation.

Sonnet 4.6 knowledge cutoffs: Reliable knowledge through August 2025. Training data through January 2026.

How operators think about this

Section titled “How operators think about this”

“I just want it to work well.” Use Sonnet 4.6. It handles 90% of operator tasks and actually outperforms Opus on everyday business work like drafting, analysis, and reporting.

“I need the absolute best for a complex task.” Try Sonnet 4.6 first. It may surprise you. Switch to Opus if you’re doing deep coding, extended research, or if Sonnet’s output isn’t quite right. You can change models per conversation.

“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.

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