Claude Fable 5.1 vs Claude Opus 5

$2.98 / task
Wins 4 of 9 benchmarks
$2.19 / task
Wins 2 of 9 benchmarks
Fable 5.144.9
Opus 534.3
Fable 5.1at max1,743
Opus 5at max1,689
Fable 5.1at high99.1
Opus 5at xhigh99.4
Fable 5.1at high92.2
Opus 5at xhigh98
Fable 5.156.4
Opus 551.5
Fable 5.1at max43.3
Opus 5at max28.6
Fable 5.1—
Opus 568.9
Fable 5.1at max49
Opus 5—
MirrorCode?
Fable 5.1at high73.3
Opus 5—

Specs

SpecFable 5.1Opus 5
Input, per 1M$10$5
Output, per 1M$50$25
Cost per task?$2.98$2.19
Speed, tok/s5655
Context1M1M
WeightsClosedClosed
ReleasedSep 2026Jul 2026
See images✓✓
Read PDFsPartialPartial
Hear audio——
Watch video——
Call tools✓✓
Force a tool callPartialPartial
Return strict JSON✓✓
Search the web??
Run code??
Use a computer??

What breaks when you switch

Fable 5.1 → Opus 5
Nothing known.
Opus 5 → Fable 5.1
Replace forced tool_choice›

Forced tool_choice returns HTTP 400; use auto with an explicit instruction and strict tools, or JSON outputs.

Adaptive thinking is always on›

Disabled thinking or manual budget_tokens returns HTTP 400; omit thinking or use adaptive thinking.

No non-default sampling values›

Non-default temperature, top_p or top_k returns HTTP 400; omit non-default sampling values.

Requires 30-day data retention · Claude API›

A Claude API organization or workspace without 30-day retention receives HTTP 400; configure workspace retention or contact the Anthropic account team.

Thinking blocks bind to conversations›

Where conversation binding is enforced, replaying an invalidated block returns HTTP 400; use the documented drop_block control to continue without it.

No assistant prefill›

Assistant prefill returns HTTP 400; use system prompt instructions instead.