OpenAI and Anthropic release new AI models and lower prices



09/24/2026 7:03 AM


On September 23, Anthropic and OpenAI launched more affordable variants of their leading AI models as competition with each other and Chinese rivals escalates, according to the Financial Times (FT).



Jernej Furman
The adjustments relate to the expense of utilizing the models, which is determined by the quantity of tokens—data units employed by AI to handle requests and produce replies.

Using Anthropic's latest model, Claude Opus 5.5, costs around 40% less than the previous version. The company announced that Claude Opus 5.5 is the inaugural model in the series designed to be more affordable.

OpenAI introduced more affordable variants of ChatGPT-6, referred to as Sol and Luna. The firm succeeded in lowering operational expenses for these models, leading to a 50% decrease in the pricing of the Sol and Luna APIs relative to the promotional rates for the GPT-5.6 category, as per the announcement.

For Anthropic’s Opus 5.5, the price is $4 for each million input tokens and $20 for every million output tokens. In Fable 5.1, one million input tokens are priced at $10, while one million output tokens are set at $50—identical to the pricing structure of OpenAI's Astra. Anthropic mentioned that Opus can execute the majority of tasks at a level comparable to the company’s strongest tool, Fable 5.1.

source: ft.com

 


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