Opus follows instructions better than sonnet for big tasks, but it can sometimes overthink or overengineer something. Sonnet tends to be more direct but can sometimes not follow instructions as good as opus. I'd say opus is great at planning and executing big tasks, while sonnet is best for simpler tasks that dont need the intelligence of opus.or at least plan with opus, code with sonnet, is another way. Answer from Hauven on reddit.com
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Anthropic
anthropic.com › news › claude-opus-4-5
Introducing Claude Opus 4.5
November 24, 2025 - Claude Opus 4.5 excels at long-horizon, autonomous tasks, especially those that require sustained reasoning and multi-step execution. In our evaluations it handled complex workflows with fewer dead-ends. On Terminal Bench it delivered a 15% improvement over Sonnet 4.5, a meaningful gain that ...
Discussions

How big of a difference is there between Opus and Sonnet for coding?
My take on this is that occasionally the resulting code is quite shitty with Sonnet, while it is almost never a problem with Opus. More on reddit.com
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July 27, 2025
Claude Code Opus vs Sonnet
Yeah, consistently better on harder tasks and recovering from errors, just get the 20x max, absurd value for money More on reddit.com
🌐 r/ClaudeAI
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June 20, 2025
Claude Opus/Sonnet vs pro? : ClaudeAI
Hey, I always work with at least 2-3 Springboot Microservices per problem I solve, sometimes databases involved and complex tasks. My question:... More on old.reddit.com
🌐 r/ClaudeAI
Claude opus and sonnet 4 vs gpt4.1 - first hand experience as a professional firmware engineer experimenting with vibe. : ClaudeAI
So to preface this, I've been writing software and firmware for over a decade, my profession is specifically in reverse engineering, problem... More on old.reddit.com
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People also ask

Can I start with Sonnet and later upgrade?
Absolutely. Many teams prototype with Sonnet for speed and cost efficiency, then move select workloads to Opus.
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ai-pro.org
ai-pro.org › learn-ai › articles › claude-3-sonnet-vs-opus-unveiling-the-differences-between-anthropics-advanced-ai-models
Claude 3 Sonnet vs Opus: Comprehensive AI Model Comparison | ...
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Eden AI
edenai.co › post › claude-sonnet-4-vs-claude-opus-4
Claude Sonnet 4 vs Claude Opus 4
Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4 are both strong performers, but with distinct strengths. Claude Opus 4 outperforms Sonnet 4 in several key areas: it achieves higher accuracy in terminal coding (50.0% vs. 41.3%), high school math competition ...
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Lisa Peyton
lisapeyton.com › home › claude 4.1 opus vs. claude 4.5 sonnet: a real-world showdown for content marketers
Claude 4.1 Opus vs. Claude 4.5 Sonnet: A Real-World Showdown for Content Marketers | Lisa Peyton
October 2, 2025 - Claude 4.1 Opus came out swinging with energy. The opening line—”Let’s talk real talk: You’re not getting replaced by AI”—hits hard and immediately establishes a conversational vibe. It leaned heavily into metaphors (the orchestra conductor theme) and maintained a consistently upbeat, almost motivational speaker energy throughout. Claude 4.5 Sonnet opened with: “Here’s the truth nobody’s saying out loud: Your job isn’t one thing—it’s fifty things wrapped in a fancy title.” Different approach, but equally engaging.
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Anthropic
anthropic.com › news › claude-4
Introducing Claude 4
Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 are hybrid models offering two modes: near-instant responses and extended thinking for deeper reasoning. The Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise Claude plans include both models and extended thinking, with Sonnet 4 also available to free users.
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Creole Studios
creolestudios.com › home › claude opus 4 or sonnet 4? how to choose the right ai for your workflow
Claude Opus 4 vs Sonnet 4: Pick the Right AI Model
September 23, 2025 - Claude Opus 4 is Anthropic’s flagship model—best for deep reasoning, advanced coding, and long-context tasks. Claude Sonnet 4 is a balanced model—ideal for content generation, support bots, and cost-effective AI use.
Find elsewhere
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Hacker News
news.ycombinator.com › item
I still feel like the difference between Sonnet and Opus is a bit unclear. Somew... | Hacker News
October 25, 2024 - And finally, in the table in the blogpost, Opus isn't even included? It seems to me like Opus is the best model they have, but they don't want people to default using it, maybe the ROI is lower on Opus or something · When I manually tested it, I feel like Opus gives slightly better replies ...
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Spartner
spartner.software › blog › claude-sonnet-vs-opus-which-one-do-you-choose
Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs. Opus: the fastest sprinter or the deepest thinker? | Spartner
June 27, 2024 - The latest Claude 3.5 Sonnet is a game changer. It operates up to twice as fast as Opus, making it significantly more cost-effective for daily tasks, rapid iterations, and customer-facing applications where response time is crucial.
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Medium
medium.com › @ayaanhaider.dev › sonnet-4-5-vs-haiku-4-5-vs-opus-4-1-which-claude-model-actually-works-best-in-real-projects-7183c0dc2249
Sonnet 4.5 vs Haiku 4.5 vs Opus 4.1 — Which Claude Model Actually Works Best in Real Projects | by Ayaan haider | Medium
October 18, 2025 - Sonnet 4.5 Sonnet is the all-rounder. It’s the model I trust for daily work — writing logic, managing state, connecting APIs, and handling multiple files. It’s reliable, consistent, and doesn’t freeze easily.
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AI Pro
ai-pro.org › learn-ai › articles › claude-3-sonnet-vs-opus-unveiling-the-differences-between-anthropics-advanced-ai-models
Claude 3 Sonnet vs Opus: Comprehensive AI Model Comparison | AI-Pro.org
April 30, 2025 - Claude 3 Sonnet: A balanced model offering a combination of speed and advanced capabilities. Claude 3 Opus: The most powerful and sophisticated model in the lineup, designed for complex tasks and high-level reasoning.
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Claude 4.5 Sonnet Is Here! Better Than Opus? - YouTube
✅ WORK WITH MEJoin the waitlist for my membership and get direct access to me + all my books for authors FREE when you join ▶ ▶ https://storytellingdb.com/go...
Published   October 1, 2025
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Skywork
skywork.ai › home › claude sonnet 4.5 vs claude opus: which one should you choose?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Claude Opus: which one should you choose? - Skywork ai
October 3, 2025 - A: Yes, the data shows clear gains on software-focused evaluations for Claude Sonnet 4.5. It retains context for much longer, which is critical for complex debugging and large code refactoring projects. Q2: How much more expensive is Claude Opus compared to Sonnet?
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Claude Docs
platform.claude.com › docs › en › about-claude › models › overview
Models overview - Claude Docs
If you're unsure which model to use, we recommend starting with Claude Sonnet 4.5.
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Writingmate
writingmate.ai › blog › claude-sonnet-vs-opus
Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Claude 3 Opus: A Comprehensive Comparison | Writingmate Blog
January 31, 2025 - Claude 3 Opus, on the other hand, focuses on delivering deep analytical capabilities, making it ideal for more intensive tasks like research, strategy, and high-level content creation. Many think that there is Claude 3.5 Opus, but… not yet. So we will compare models that actually exist, Claude3opus and Claude 3.5 sonnet, giving features comparison table with competitors.
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DEV Community
dev.to › nodeshiftcloud › claude-4-opus-vs-sonnet-benchmarks-and-dev-workflow-with-claude-code-11fa
Claude 4: Opus vs Sonnet, Benchmarks, and Dev Workflow with Claude Code - DEV Community
May 24, 2025 - For high-compute results, multiple ... tasks are approached at scale. Claude Opus 4 represents a major leap forward in building digital systems that can handle deep, uninterrupted thinking....
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Medium
medium.com › @leucopsis › claude-sonnet-4-and-opus-4-a-review-db68b004db90
Claude Sonnet 4 and Opus 4, a Review | by Barnacle Goose | Medium
May 29, 2025 - In Anthropic’s nomenclature, Opus denotes the top-tier, most capable model, while Sonnet models aim to balance high intelligence with efficiency. Claude Opus 4 is described as “our most intelligent model to date, pushing the frontier in ...
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Overchat
overchat.ai › home › blog › chatgpt killer? i reviewed claude sonnet 4 & opus 4 ai models
ChatGPT Killer? I reviewed Claude Sonnet 4 & Opus 4 AI Models | AI Hub
September 10, 2025 - I was eager to test these models' ... the TL;DR? Sonnet 4 is a workhorse upgrade that costs the same as before, while Opus 4 is their bet on "what if we made an AI that could finish an entire project."...
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Databricks
databricks.com › blog › claude-opus-45-here
Claude Opus 4.5 Is Here | Databricks Blog
November 24, 2025 - Claude Opus 4.5 is Anthropic's most powerful model, which sets a new standard across coding, agents, computer use, and office tasks—outperforming both Sonnet 4.5 and Opus 4.1 while making Opus-level intelligence accessible at one-third the cost.