Claude Opus 5.5 cuts Opus token prices 20% and raises five-hour limits

Anthropic released Claude Opus 5.5 on September 22, the first model in its Claude 5.5 family. The API model is claude-opus-5-5.

What it costs

Per million tokens, from Anthropic's table:

	Opus 5.5	Opus 5
Input	$4	$5
Output	$20	$25
Cache reads	$0.20	$0.50
Cache writes	$5	$6.25

Anthropic says that, at default settings, Opus 5.5 costs 40% less than Opus 5 on typical workloads because it also uses fewer tokens per task. That figure is Anthropic's own estimate. Fast mode, with up to 2.5x speed, is $8 input and $40 output per million tokens in Claude Code and the Claude Platform.

What changed for subscribers

The post says Anthropic is increasing five-hour usage limits on Pro, Max, Team, and seat-based Enterprise plans. Subscription users also get a rate limit reset they can save and use when they choose. The post does not give new limit numbers.

Things to check before you move

• Opus 5.5 can no longer be run with thinking switched off.
• Most cybersecurity tasks are routed to Opus 4.8 under its safeguards. Verified practitioners can apply to the Cyber Verification Program.
• Preserved thinking applies to API accounts created on or after August 31, 2026.

Should you switch

If you already run Opus 5 on the API, the list price is lower on every line, so the open question is the migration work, not the bill. If your integration turns thinking off, read the migration guide linked from the announcement first.