Prices › Hot models › Claude
Claude API pricing, free access & setup
As of 2026-10-17, we track 7 Claude models (Anthropic). The cheapest is Claude Haiku 5.5: $0.1 / $0.5 per 1M input/output tokens via the official API (blended $0.2). On OpenRouter's weekly ranking (as of 2026-10-16) the Claude family routed about 10.8T tokens, #6 among our 10 hot families. 0 verified free/deal routes are listed.
Conclusions & evidence
| Topic | Conclusion | Channel | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Cheapest overall: Claude Haiku 5.5, $0.1 / $0.5 per 1M input/output | Official (Intl) | www.anthropic.com | 2026-10-17 12:20 UTC+8 |
| Region | Mainland direct: no | Official (Intl) | www.anthropic.com | 2026-10-17 |
| Payment | Alipay: unverified; overseas card: unverified | Official (Intl) | www.anthropic.com | 2026-10-17 |
| Real-name | ID verification: unverified | Official (Intl) | www.anthropic.com | 2026-10-17 |
| Region | Mainland direct: no; provider excludes CN/HK/MO (Claude Haiku 5.5) | OpenRouter | www.anthropic.com | 2026-10-17 11:29 UTC+8 |
| Payment | Alipay: yes; overseas card: not required | OpenRouter | verified | 2026-10-17 |
| Real-name | ID verification: not required | OpenRouter | verified | 2026-10-17 |
Each conclusion is tied to one channel, one source link and a check time; “verified” means checked by the site owner, conclusion only.
Last updated: 2026-10-17 · Anthropic · Official pricing
Contents: Evidence · Prices · Free & deals · China · Setup · Benchmark · Changes · FAQ
Claude API prices, all channels (per 1M tokens)
| Model | Channel | Blended | Input | Output | Cached | This channel | Native | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 5.5 | Official (Intl) | $0.2 | $0.1 | $0.5 | $0.01 | ✗CN direct?Alipay·unverified?ID·unverified?Intl card·unverified | $0.1 / $0.5 | www.anthropic.com 2026-10-17 |
| Claude Haiku 5.5 | OpenRouter | $0.2 | $0.1 | $0.5 | $0.01 | ✗CN direct✓Alipay✗ID✗Intl card | $0.1 / $0.5 | openrouter.ai 2026-10-17 |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Official (Intl) | $4 | $2 | $10 | $0.1 | ✗CN direct?Alipay·unverified?ID·unverified?Intl card·unverified | $2 / $10 | www.anthropic.com 2026-10-17 |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | OpenRouter | $4 | $2 | $10 | $0.1 | ✗CN direct✓Alipay✗ID✗Intl card | $2 / $10 | openrouter.ai 2026-10-17 |
| Claude Sonnet 5 | OpenRouter | $4 | $2 | $10 | $0.2 | ✗CN direct✓Alipay✗ID✗Intl card | $2 / $10 | openrouter.ai 2026-10-17 |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | Official (Intl) | $8 | $4 | $20 | $0.2 | ✗CN direct?Alipay·unverified?ID·unverified?Intl card·unverified | $4 / $20 | www.anthropic.com 2026-10-17 |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | OpenRouter | $8 | $4 | $20 | $0.2 | ✗CN direct✓Alipay✗ID✗Intl card | $4 / $20 | openrouter.ai 2026-10-17 |
| Claude Opus 5 | OpenRouter | $10 | $5 | $25 | $0.5 | ✗CN direct✓Alipay✗ID✗Intl card | $5 / $25 | openrouter.ai 2026-10-17 |
| Claude Opus 4.8 | OpenRouter | $10 | $5 | $25 | $0.5 | ✗CN direct✓Alipay✗ID✗Intl card | $5 / $25 | openrouter.ai 2026-10-17 |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | Official (Intl) | $20 | $10 | $50 | $0.25 | ✗CN direct?Alipay·unverified?ID·unverified?Intl card·unverified | $10 / $50 | www.anthropic.com 2026-10-17 |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | OpenRouter | $20 | $10 | $50 | $0.25 | ✗CN direct✓Alipay✗ID✗Intl card | $10 / $50 | openrouter.ai 2026-10-17 |
Blended = 0.75×input + 0.25×output. Relay prices not yet tracked. Methodology
How to use Claude for free & current deals
No Claude free routes or deals recorded as of 2026-10-17.
All free LLM APIs → · Submit a deal
Using Claude from China
| Channel | Access & payment | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official (Intl) | ✗CN direct?Alipay·unverified?ID·unverified?Intl card·unverified | Mainland China / HK not on the supported-countries list (verified). | www.anthropic.com 2026-10-17 |
| OpenRouter | ✗CN direct✓Alipay✗ID✗Intl card | OpenRouter: no ID verification required; Alipay accepted, as are major credit cards and USDC, so no overseas card is needed. Mainland direct use: no. Anthropic's official supported-regions list does not include mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, and OpenRouter Terms §5.7 bar users in a provider's restricted regions from accessing such Restricted Models via OpenRouter (including via VPN/proxy). | openrouter.ai 2026-10-17 |
Use Claude in Claude Code / Codex / OpenCode / CC Switch
Anthropic setup for Claude Code / Codex: to be verified. Codex only supports the Responses API (wire_api = "responses"); provider/OpenRouter support not yet verified. Note: Anthropic's official supported regions exclude mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, and under OpenRouter Terms §5.7 users there cannot use Claude models via OpenRouter either. Source · 2026-10-17
Claude Code · Codex · OpenCode · CC Switch · Cline
Claude benchmarks & popularity
| Model | Intelligence | Coding | Agentic | AA variant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 5.5 | 43.4 | — | — | Claude Haiku 5.5 (Max) |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | 56 | — | — | Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback) |
| Claude Sonnet 5 | 38.2 | 71.5 | 43.6 | Claude Sonnet 5 (Max) |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | 57.6 | — | — | Claude Opus 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback) |
| Claude Opus 5 | 50.8 | 78 | 56.5 | Claude Opus 5 (Max) |
| Claude Opus 4.8 | 41.8 | 74.3 | 41.9 | Claude Opus 4.8 (Max) |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | 53.4 | 81.6 | 57.9 | Claude Fable 5.1 (Max, Default Fallback) |
Source: Artificial Analysis indices as shown in the Benchmarks section of OpenRouter rankings, fetched 2026-10-17; higher is better; test variant in the last column. Models not listed have no score from this source. openrouter.ai/rankings · artificialanalysis.ai
OpenRouter weekly ranking (tokens)
- #8
anthropic/claude-opus-5.5-20260921· 6.0T tokens - #15
anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.5-20260928· 2.8T tokens - #18
anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5-20261007· 2.0T tokens
Source: OpenRouter (openrouter.ai/rankings), as of 2026-10-16; reflects OpenRouter routing volume only. openrouter.ai/rankings
Claude price changes
- 2026-10-17 · OpenRouter · Claude Opus 4.8 listed · $5 / $25
- 2026-10-17 · OpenRouter · Claude Sonnet 5 listed · $2 / $10
- 2026-10-17 · OpenRouter · Claude Opus 5 listed · $5 / $25
Claude vs others
GPT-6.1 Sol vs Claude Sonnet 5.5 · Claude Opus 5.5 vs GPT-6 Astra · Grok 4.7 vs Claude Sonnet 5.5 · Claude Haiku 5.5 vs Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite · Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs Gemini 4 Argon · Kimi K2.7 Code vs Claude Sonnet 5.5 ·
FAQ
How much does the Claude API cost?
As of 2026-10-17, the cheapest is Claude Haiku 5.5 at $0.1 / $0.5 per 1M input/output tokens (Official (Intl)). See the table for all models, each with a source.
What is the official Claude Haiku 5.5 price?
Official (Official (Intl)): $0.1 / $0.5 per 1M input/output tokens, cached $0.01, verified 2026-10-17.
What is the official Claude Sonnet 5.5 price?
Official (Official (Intl)): $2 / $10 per 1M input/output tokens, cached $0.1, verified 2026-10-17.
Is the Claude API free?
As of 2026-10-17 we found no verified free route for the official Claude API; it is pay-as-you-go.
Can I use Claude from mainland China?
Official (Intl): direct no, Alipay unverified, ID required unverified, overseas card unverified; OpenRouter: direct no, Alipay yes, ID required no, overseas card no. Conditions are verified per channel; sources and check times are in the Conclusions & evidence table.
How do I use Claude in Claude Code?
We have not verified an Anthropic-compatible endpoint for Anthropic.
How does Claude score on benchmarks?
Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (via OpenRouter rankings, 2026-10-17): Claude Haiku 5.5 43.4, Claude Sonnet 5.5 56, Claude Sonnet 5 38.2, Claude Opus 5.5 57.6.
How do I use Claude in Codex CLI?
To be verified: Codex only supports the Responses API; support by Anthropic or OpenRouter is not yet verified.
How popular is Claude?
On OpenRouter's weekly ranking (as of 2026-10-16) the Claude family routed ~10.8T tokens. This reflects OpenRouter routing volume only.
Are there cheaper alternatives to Claude?
See the home table sorted by blended price and our cheapest-LLM-API ranking.
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