Latest Claude Models — June 2026 (Current Lineup, Pricing, and Specs)

Updated June 12, 2026. Fable 5 is the current top-tier model, released June 9, 2026. The full lineup: Fable 5 → Opus 4.8 → Sonnet 4.6 → Haiku 4.5. Pricing and availability verified against Anthropic’s official docs.

Current Claude Models — Quick Reference

All four models support vision, tool use/function calling, and batch processing. Fable 5 and Opus 4.8 are available on AWS Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI, and Microsoft Azure AI Foundry in addition to the direct Anthropic API.

Claude Fable 5 (June 9, 2026)

Fable 5 is Anthropic’s first publicly available Mythos-class model — a capability tier previously restricted to research and select enterprise partners. It’s the most capable model Anthropic has released to date.

What makes Fable 5 different:

• SWE-bench Verified: 95.0% (vs 88.6% for Opus 4.8)
• SWE-bench Pro: 80.0% (vs 69.2%)
• Senior Engineer benchmark: 91/100 (vs ~63/100)
• Adaptive extended thinking (always on, not a mode switch)

Important limitations:

• 2x the cost of Opus 4.8 ($10/$50 vs $5/$25)
• Mandatory 30-day data retention — not available under zero data retention (ZDR)
• Safety classifiers route cybersecurity, biology, chemistry, and distillation prompts to an Opus 4.8 fallback — you pay Fable 5 rates for Opus 4.8 output in those domains
• Higher latency on complex tasks (60 seconds to several minutes vs 3–15 seconds for Opus 4.8)

Free through June 22, 2026: Claude Pro, Max 5x, Max 20x, Team, and Enterprise subscription plans include Fable 5 at no extra charge during the launch window.

Claude Opus 4.8

Opus 4.8 is Anthropic’s current workhorse for serious work — the right default for most API applications and Claude Code use. It supports zero data retention (ZDR), which Fable 5 does not.

Key specs:

• Context: 1M tokens
• Max output: 32K tokens per request
• Extended thinking: Available (opt-in mode)
• ZDR: Yes
• Batch API: Yes (50% discount on batch processing)

Use Opus 4.8 as your default model unless you have a specific reason to go up to Fable 5 or down to Sonnet/Haiku. It hits the best balance of capability, speed, cost, and data policy flexibility.

Claude Sonnet 4.6

Sonnet 4.6 targets use cases where response speed matters and you don’t need Opus-level reasoning. It’s the model Anthropic’s own infrastructure runs Claude.ai on for Pro subscribers doing day-to-day chat work.

Key specs:

• Context: 1M tokens
• Max output: 64K tokens per request
• Extended thinking: Available
• ZDR: Yes
• Typical latency: 1–5 seconds for most tasks

Good for: content generation pipelines, customer-facing chat, document analysis at volume, anything where sub-5-second response time matters.

Claude Haiku 4.5

Haiku 4.5 is Anthropic’s fastest and cheapest model. At $1 input / $5 output per million tokens, it’s 10x cheaper than Fable 5.

Key specs:

• Context: 200K tokens (smaller than the Opus/Sonnet/Fable 1M window)
• Max output: 16K tokens per request
• Latency: Sub-second for most tasks
• ZDR: Yes

The 200K context window is the main limitation. For tasks that fit within that window — classification, short-form generation, routing, extraction — Haiku 4.5 is the cost-optimal choice. For longer documents or conversations, step up to Sonnet or Opus.

How to Choose the Right Claude Model

The decision framework I use:

1. Does the task require multi-step reasoning, complex coding, or long-horizon autonomy? → Fable 5 (if cost and latency are acceptable) or Opus 4.8
2. Is this a routine task at reasonable volume? → Opus 4.8 as the default
3. Does latency matter more than maximum reasoning depth? → Sonnet 4.6
4. Is this high-volume, short-context, cost-sensitive work? → Haiku 4.5
5. Does your use case require zero data retention? → Any model except Fable 5

Most production applications use a routing strategy: Fable 5 or Opus 4.8 for the hard jobs, Haiku 4.5 for classification and pre-processing, Sonnet 4.6 for user-facing response generation.

Claude Subscription Plans and Model Access (June 2026)

Claude Code (the CLI tool) is included in all paid subscription plans. API access for building your own applications is separate — billed per token via the Anthropic Console regardless of subscription status.

Legacy Models (Still Available, No Longer Latest)

These models are still available via the API but are not Anthropic’s current recommended versions:

• Claude Opus 4.7 (claude-opus-4-7) — prior Opus tier, succeeded by 4.8
• Claude Opus 4.6 (claude-opus-4-6) — two generations back
• Claude Sonnet 4.5 (claude-sonnet-4-5) — prior Sonnet tier
• Claude 3.5 Haiku / Sonnet / Opus — Claude 3.x generation, still functional for legacy integrations

If you’re building a new application, start with the current lineup. Legacy model IDs are useful for maintaining compatibility in existing applications that haven’t been updated.

Platform Availability

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the newest Claude model?
As of June 2026, Claude Fable 5 is the newest and most capable model Anthropic has released. It launched June 9, 2026. The API model ID is claude-fable-5.

Is Claude Fable 5 the same as Claude 5?
No. Anthropic changed the naming convention — there is no “Claude 5.” The Fable series is a new tier above the Opus/Sonnet/Haiku hierarchy. Fable 5 is Anthropic’s first Mythos-class model released for general availability.

What is the most powerful Claude model?
Claude Fable 5 is currently the most powerful. For tasks where Fable 5’s safety classifier routing applies (cybersecurity, biology, chemistry, distillation), or where zero data retention is required, Claude Opus 4.8 is the appropriate top-tier choice.

What Claude model does Claude.ai use by default?
Depends on your plan. Free tier uses a limited version of Sonnet. Pro and Max subscribers access Opus 4.8 as the default with Fable 5 available (through June 22, 2026 included, after that plan-dependent). Claude.ai routes to the appropriate model for your plan automatically.

How do I use the latest Claude model in the API?
Set the model parameter in your API request to the model ID. For Fable 5: "model": "claude-fable-5". For Opus 4.8: "model": "claude-opus-4-8". See the full API reference at console.anthropic.com.

What’s the difference between Claude Opus 4.8 and Fable 5?
Fable 5 is significantly stronger on complex engineering tasks — SWE-bench Pro: 80% vs 69.2%, and Senior Engineer benchmark: 91 vs ~63 out of 100. The trade-off: Fable 5 costs 2x more ($10/$50 vs $5/$25 per MTok), has higher latency, and requires 30-day data retention. For most work, Opus 4.8 is the right choice. Full Fable 5 vs Opus 4.8 breakdown here.

Changelog

• June 12, 2026 — Added Claude Fable 5 (released June 9). Updated pricing table. Added platform availability table.
• May 2026 — Claude Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 4.6 were the current top-tier models.

This page is updated as Anthropic releases new models. Last verified: June 12, 2026. For API pricing, check console.anthropic.com — the canonical source.