Head-to-head AI model comparison graphic: Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) vs Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic). Intelligence index 44.2 vs 59.1; output speed 50 vs 95 tokens per second; time to first token 62s vs 10.8 min; output price $25.00 vs $20.00 per million tokens; input price $5.00 vs $4.00 per million tokens. franklineh.com
Claude Opus 5 vs Claude Opus 5.5: head-to-head AI benchmark comparison. Claude Opus 5.5 leads on intelligence index, output speed, output price and input price; Claude Opus 5 leads on time to first token.
Head to headBy Franklin AIUpdated

Claude Opus 5 Max vs Claude Opus 5.5 Max: which scores higher?

Claude Opus 5.5 Max leads the intelligence index 59.1 to 44.2. Benchmarks, sample bills, speed and a verdict.

Pick it for Claude Opus 5 · Max

  • Shorter wait for the first token: 62 seconds against 10.8 minutes.
  • Finishes a typical reply sooner: about 78 seconds against 10.9 minutes for 800 tokens, counting the first-token wait.

Pick it for Claude Opus 5.5 · Max, Default Fallback

  • Higher intelligence index: 59.1 against 44.2.
  • Lower cost: $8.00 against $10.00 for 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens.
  • Higher throughput once writing (95 tokens per second against 50 tokens per second), though it only finishes first beyond about 62,000 tokens.

By the numbers

MetricClaude Opus 5 (Max)Claude Opus 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback)
Intelligence Index44.259.1
Input price (per 1M tokens)$5.00$4.00
Output price (per 1M tokens)$25.00$20.00
Output speed (tokens/s)5095
Time to first token62s10.8 min
Release date2026-07-242026-09-22

This is an all-Anthropic comparison, with Claude Opus 5 (Max) on one side and Claude Opus 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback) on the other. What follows is built entirely from tracked data, so where the catalogue is silent, this page says so instead of guessing. The biggest separation is in overall capability: 59.1 for Claude Opus 5.5 Max against 44.2 for Claude Opus 5 Max.

Claude Opus 5.5 Max leads on the intelligence index

The catalogue puts Claude Opus 5 Max at 44.2 and Claude Opus 5.5 Max at 59.1 on its intelligence index. That is a wide gap for an aggregate score. Put another way, Claude Opus 5 Max would need 34% more on this index to draw level.

Across the 109 active models with an intelligence score in the catalogue, Claude Opus 5 Max ranks 26th and Claude Opus 5.5 Max ranks 2nd.

Specialist coding and math indexes are missing for both, so treat the overall score as the only capability signal here.

Which is newer

Claude Opus 5.5 Max arrived on September 22, 2026, about 2 months after Claude Opus 5 Max (July 24, 2026).

Token pricing and a sample bill

Claude Opus 5 Max lists $5.00 per million input tokens and $25.00 per million output tokens; Claude Opus 5.5 Max lists $4.00 and $20.00. For output tokens, Claude Opus 5 Max is 1.3 times the price of Claude Opus 5.5 Max.

Take 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens: that comes to $10.00 on Claude Opus 5 Max and $8.00 on Claude Opus 5.5 Max. For summarising 1,000 documents of 8,000 tokens into 400-token summaries, Claude Opus 5.5 Max would come in 20% lower: $50.00 for Claude Opus 5 Max against $40.00 for Claude Opus 5.5 Max.

Score per dollar

Per point of intelligence index, Claude Opus 5 Max costs $0.23 of blended price per million tokens and Claude Opus 5.5 Max $0.14. With the higher score and the lower cost per point, Claude Opus 5.5 Max is the better value per point on these numbers.

Speed and latency

Measured output speed is 50 tokens per second for Claude Opus 5 Max and 95 tokens per second for Claude Opus 5.5 Max. That makes Claude Opus 5.5 Max roughly 1.9 times as fast at writing. Time to first token is 62 seconds for Claude Opus 5 Max and 10.8 minutes for Claude Opus 5.5 Max. The faster writer, Claude Opus 5.5 Max, gives away too much at the start to win on time: counting the first-token wait, Claude Opus 5 Max finishes first for any reply shorter than about 62,000 tokens. Waits that long are felt on every chat-style request, though they matter less for batch jobs.

Add the two numbers up for an 800-token reply and Claude Opus 5 Max finishes first: 78 seconds for Claude Opus 5 Max, 10.9 minutes for Claude Opus 5.5 Max.

Common questions about Claude Opus 5 Max and Claude Opus 5.5 Max

Is Claude Opus 5.5 Max better than Claude Opus 5 Max?

Neither wins everywhere: Claude Opus 5.5 Max scores higher on the intelligence index, 59.1 to 44.2; Claude Opus 5.5 Max is 20% cheaper on blended price; Claude Opus 5.5 Max streams output 1.9 times as fast; and Claude Opus 5 Max reaches its first token sooner.

Where do these numbers come from?

The figures are the recorded benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's model catalogue. This page is written from that data automatically; neither model was tested by hand for it.

Which is newer, Claude Opus 5 Max or Claude Opus 5.5 Max?

Claude Opus 5.5 Max is newer. It was released on September 22, 2026, about 2 months after Claude Opus 5 Max (July 24, 2026).

Who makes Claude Opus 5 Max and Claude Opus 5.5 Max?

Both are Anthropic models, listed as separate models in the catalogue. Claude Opus 5 Max was released on July 24, 2026 and Claude Opus 5.5 Max on September 22, 2026.

How much do Claude Opus 5 Max and Claude Opus 5.5 Max cost?

Claude Opus 5.5 Max is cheaper on a blended basis. Claude Opus 5 Max lists $5.00 per million input tokens and $25.00 per million output tokens; Claude Opus 5.5 Max lists $4.00 and $20.00. For 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens that is $10.00 against $8.00.

Final whistle

In one line: Claude Opus 5.5 Max is the stronger all-round pick on this data, while Claude Opus 5 Max makes sense in narrower cases. Pick Claude Opus 5.5 Max if you need the higher overall score (59.1 against 44.2) and cost matters ($20.00 against $25.00 per million output tokens). Pick Claude Opus 5 Max if users are waiting on the first word and replies need to finish sooner at typical lengths.

Where the numbers come from

The scores, speed and prices in this comparison come from independent third-party model evaluations that Franklin AI syncs each day, and the article was written from a snapshot of them. For the latest results, open the Claude Opus 5 (Max) and Claude Opus 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback) pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.

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