Last refreshed: June 9, 2026
Model Accuracy Note — Updated June 9, 2026
Current flagship: Claude Opus 4.8 (claude-opus-4-8). Current models: Opus 4.8 · Sonnet 4.6 · Haiku 4.5. Claude Opus 4.8 (claude-opus-4-8) is the current flagship as of June 9, 2026. Where this article references Opus 4.6 or earlier models, those references are historical. See current model tracker →. See current model tracker →
Anthropic has released over a dozen Claude models since the first public launch in March 2023. This page is the complete record — every model, its release date, the key capability it introduced, and its current status. It’s updated when Anthropic ships new releases.
The Complete Claude Model Timeline
| Model | Released | Key Capability | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude 1 | March 2023 | First public release. Constitutional AI, 100K context. | Retired |
| Claude 1.3 | July 2023 | Improved reasoning and code generation. | Retired |
| Claude 2 | July 2023 | Doubled context to 100K, stronger coding and analysis. | Retired |
| Claude 2.1 | November 2023 | Reduced hallucination rate, tool use support added. | Retired |
| Claude 3 Haiku | March 2024 | Fastest, cheapest Claude 3 tier. Near-instant responses. | Deprecated |
| Claude 3 Sonnet | March 2024 | Balanced performance/cost. First strong coding model. | Deprecated |
| Claude 3 Opus | March 2024 | Top benchmark scores at launch. Best reasoning of the generation. | Deprecated |
| Claude 3.5 Sonnet | June 2024 | Outperformed prior Opus on most benchmarks at Sonnet price. Landmark release. | Deprecated |
| Claude 3.5 Haiku | October 2024 | Speed/cost tier for Claude 3.5 generation. | Deprecated |
| Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 | October 2024 | Computer use capability introduced. Improved coding. | Deprecated |
| Claude 3.7 Sonnet | February 2025 | Extended thinking. First Claude with explicit chain-of-thought reasoning. | Deprecated |
| Claude Sonnet 4 | May 2025 | Claude 4 generation launch. Major coding gains, SWE-bench leadership. | ⚠ Retiring June 15, 2026 |
| Claude Opus 4 | May 2025 | Maximum capability in Claude 4 generation at launch. | ⚠ Retiring June 15, 2026 |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | October 2025 | Speed/cost tier for 4.x generation. 200K context. | ✅ Current |
| Claude Opus 4.8 | February 5, 2026 | 1M token context window (beta then GA). Improved long-horizon reasoning. | ✅ Current flagship |
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | February 17, 2026 | Near-Opus performance. 1M token context. Dramatically improved computer use. | ✅ Current default |
The Generational Leaps That Mattered Most
Claude 3.5 Sonnet (June 2024) — The Benchmark Flip
This was the release that established Claude as a serious competitor to GPT-4. Claude 3.5 Sonnet outperformed Claude 3 Opus on most benchmarks at half the cost — the first time a Sonnet-tier model beat the prior generation’s flagship. It also introduced Artifacts, the interactive output canvas that became a defining Claude feature. Every generation since has followed this pattern: new Sonnet outperforms prior Opus.
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Claude 3.7 Sonnet (February 2025) — Extended Thinking
Extended thinking gave Claude an explicit reasoning layer before responding — the model could work through a problem step-by-step before committing to an answer. This was Anthropic’s answer to OpenAI’s o1 and marked the beginning of “reasoning models” as a mainstream concept in Claude’s lineup.
Claude Sonnet 4 (May 2025) — Coding Leadership
The Claude 4 launch pushed Claude to the top of SWE-bench Verified, the real-world software engineering benchmark that matters most to developers. Claude Code launched alongside it and reached $1B in annualized revenue by November 2025 — one of the fastest-growing developer tools in history.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 (February 2026) — Computer Use at Scale
The 4.6 generation’s most significant practical advance was dramatically improved computer use — Claude’s ability to navigate browsers, fill forms, click through interfaces, and operate software autonomously. Combined with the 1M token context window reaching general availability, this made Claude genuinely useful for long-horizon agentic tasks that previously required constant human intervention.
What Comes Next
Claude 5 has not been officially announced as of May 2026. No official announcement as of June 2026. The pattern suggests Claude 5 Sonnet will outperform current Opus 4.6 at lower cost — consistent with every prior generation transition. See Claude 5 Release Date: What We Know.
For current API strings and deprecation deadlines, see the Current Claude Model Version Tracker.
When was Claude first released?
Claude 1 launched publicly in March 2023. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers, and Claude was in limited testing before the public launch.
How many Claude models are there?
As of June 2026, Anthropic has released approximately 16 public model versions across 5 generations (Claude 1 through Claude 4.6). Three models are currently active: Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.6, and Haiku 4.5.
What was the best Claude model ever released?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 (February 2026) holds the current highest benchmark scores and represents the peak of the Claude 4 generation. On SWE-bench Verified it scores 79.6% — among the highest of any model at its release.
Claude Opus 4.8 — April 2026
Claude Opus 4.8 launched as the current flagship, replacing Opus 4.6 as the most capable generally available model. Key changes:
- Step-change improvement in agentic coding over Claude Opus 4.7
- API string:
claude-opus-4-8 - Pricing: Same as Opus 4.6 — $5/$25 per million tokens (input/output)
- Breaking changes vs Opus 4.6 — review the Anthropic migration guide before upgrading
- Available on direct API, Amazon Bedrock (27 regions), and Vertex AI
Claude Fable 5 — June 2026
On June 9, 2026, Anthropic released Claude Fable 5 — the public debut of its Mythos-class model tier and the first Claude positioned above Opus. Key facts:
- New top tier: scored more than 10% higher than Claude Opus 4.8 on some benchmarks at launch
- API string:
claude-fable-5 - Pricing: $10/$50 per million tokens (input/output) — double Opus 4.8
- Context: 1M tokens, 128K max output
- API surface: adaptive thinking only; sampling parameters removed
Full coverage of the launch month: Claude updates June 2026.
Current active model strings: claude-fable-5 · claude-opus-4-8 · claude-sonnet-4-6 · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001
Claude Reference Hub
Everything you need to use Claude — pricing, models, API setup, and release history.
🔌 Claude API Model IDs & Strings
📡 Current Claude Model Version Tracker
⚙️ How to Install Claude Code
🔑 Anthropic Console & API Keys
📅 Claude 4 Release & Deprecation Guide
📜 Claude Release History: Every Model
📈 Anthropic IPO: Timeline & Valuation
🗂 View Full Claude Reference Hub →
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most recent Claude model as of June 2026?
As of June 2026, the most recent Claude model is Claude Fable 5, released June 9, 2026 – a new tier positioned above Opus (1M token context, 128K output, $10/$50 per million tokens). Below it sit Claude Opus 4.8 (Opus-tier flagship), Claude Sonnet 4.6 (best speed/intelligence balance), and Claude Haiku 4.5 (fastest).
When did Claude 4 launch?
Claude 4 launched in 2025 with Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Claude Opus 4.6 as the initial releases, followed by Opus 4.7 and Opus 4.8. In June 2026, Anthropic added Claude Fable 5 as a new tier above Opus. The Claude 4 generation introduced 1M token context windows and significantly improved reasoning.
How many Claude models have there been?
Anthropic has released models across four major generations: Claude 1 (2023), Claude 2 (2023), Claude 3 (2024 — Haiku, Sonnet, Opus), and Claude 4 (2025–2026 — Haiku 4.5, Sonnet 4.5/4.6, Opus 4.6/4.7/4.8). Each generation brought major capability improvements.
What replaced Claude 3 Opus?
Claude Opus 4.6, released in 2025, replaced Claude 3 Opus as Anthropic’s flagship model. It was subsequently succeeded by Opus 4.7 and then Opus 4.8, the current flagship as of June 2026.
What is the difference between Claude Sonnet 4.5 and 4.6?
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the successor to Sonnet 4.5, with improvements in reasoning, coding, and instruction following. Sonnet 4.6 is currently Anthropic’s recommended model for the best combination of speed and intelligence at $3 input / $15 output per million tokens.
Does Claude have a release history page?
Anthropic maintains official model documentation at platform.claude.com. This page tracks Anthropic’s model release history chronologically from Claude 1 through the current Claude 4 generation, including API model IDs and approximate release dates.
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