Head to head
Claude Fable 5 vs Claude Opus 5
Which is better, Claude Fable 5 or Claude Opus 5?
Claude Opus 5 finishes ahead of Claude Fable 5 on the index, 87.1 to 85.6, and leads on all four scores: craft, speed, control and value. Both are scored on the same rubric, in the same week, and neither placing is sponsored.
Updated
Claude Fable 5
17 of 73
85.6
Still excellent, but Fable 5.1 replaced it at the same price and Opus 5.5 beats both for less.
Claude Opus 5
12 of 73
87.1
The default of the summer, now replaced by an Opus that is cheaper and better.
The four scores, side by side
| Score | Claude Fable 5 | Claude Opus 5 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Craft | 93 | 92 | +1 |
| Speed | 76 | 82 | +6 |
| Control | 91 | 90 | +1 |
| Value | 66 | 74 | +8 |
| Index score | 85.6 | 87.1 | +1.5 |
Which to pick
Claude Opus 5 is the safer pick on every axis we score. Claude Fable 5 earns its place in the index, but nothing in these four numbers argues for it over Claude Opus 5.
Claude Fable 5
Fable 5 was the top of this index in the summer and it remains a very strong model for long autonomous runs. It is now a legacy model: Fable 5.1 costs the same with better results and cheaper cached input, and Opus 5.5 outscores both at well under half the price. Anthropic will keep serving it until at least June 2027, so existing work does not need to move in a hurry. New work should start somewhere else.
Where it shines
- Holds a long, messy task together for hours without drifting
- Refuses cleanly and explains itself rather than inventing an answer
- Supported until at least June 2027
Claude Opus 5
Opus 5 was the model to reach for by default from July, and it is still strong on serious coding and agent work. Opus 5.5 has now replaced it at a lower price per token with clearly better results on both independent leaderboards, and Anthropic lists Opus 5 as a legacy model. There is no reason to start new work on it, though nothing forces existing work to move yet.
Where it shines
- Frontier-class output on coding and agent work
- Fast enough for interactive use
- Excellent at long-context reading of an existing codebase