Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Opus 4.8 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,598 vs 1,438), while Claude Opus 4.8 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (78.4%), while Claude Haiku 4.5 is more budget-friendly at $5/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
10 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Anthropic cheap/fast Claude SKU. Official Claude Platform list price $1/$5 per 1M tokens (Anthropic Haiku page).
Prior Opus generation still billed at $5/$25. Kept as a compare baseline against Opus 5.
Currently comparing Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Claude Opus 4.8. Alternative family tiers available.
Simulate accuracy gains vs added response time & token cost
Reasoning models “think before answering” by generating internal reasoning tokens. Higher effort improves math, coding, and logic accuracy, but increases response delay and token costs.
Δ 160 Arena Elo pts
175 tok/s
$5 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Claude Opus 4.8 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +160 | ||
| Coding Elo | +158 | ||
| LiveBench | +11.2% | ||
| SWE-bench | +20.2% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +12.2% | ||
| Time to first token | +235 ms | ||
| Output speed | 175 tok/s | 66 tok/s | +109 tok/s |
| Input price | +$4/1M | ||
| Output price | +$20/1M | ||
| Context window | +800k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Claude Haiku 4.5 is estimated to save $440.00/month ($5,280/year).
Higher SWE-bench (78.4%).
Lower output list price ($5/1M).
Lower TTFT (95 ms).
Larger window (1M).
Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Opus 4.8).
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Opus 4.8 | Higher SWE-bench (78.4%). |
| High-volume chat | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Lower output list price ($5/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Lower TTFT (95 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude Opus 4.8 | Larger window (1M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Opus 4.8 | Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Opus 4.8). |
$1/$5 hosted Claude vs a cheap long-context open sibling. The alternative-to-Sonnet pair that is honest.
Opus 4.8 still bills $5/$25. We keep it so Opus 5 vs 4.8 is a real generation delta, not marketing.
Huge window, cheap hosted lists. The Haiku alternative that is actually open-weight.
Official Anthropic list $1/$5. This is the SKU behind “cheapest Claude alternative” that is still Claude.
No comments posted on this matchup yet. Be the first to share an evaluation note!
Dynamic OpenGraph banner generated at /compare/claude-haiku-4-5-vs-claude-opus-4-8/opengraph-image
Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
compare · Aug 16, 2026
Haiku 4.5 vs Llama 4 Scout: cheap Claude versus cheap open Llama
launch · Jun 20, 2026
Keep Opus 4.8 on the board: a baseline, not a flagship
launch · Apr 8, 2026
Llama 4 Scout: long-context open sibling of Maverick
launch · Oct 22, 2025
Claude Haiku 4.5 at $1/$5: the cheap Claude people actually ship