Claude Opus 5.5 cuts API token prices and raises subscription usage limits
Anthropic lists Opus 5.5 API input and output at $4 and $20 per million tokens, below Opus 5 prices. It also says five-hour usage limits are increasing on Pro, Max, Team, and seat-based Enterprise plans, with a reset subscribers can save and use when they choose.
SessionWatcher editorial · Published · Updated · Source announcement: 2026-09-22
API token prices
Anthropic lists Claude Opus 5.5 input tokens at $4 per million and output tokens at $20 per million. Compared with Opus 5 at $5 input and $25 output per million, both rates are 20% lower.
Cache reads cost $0.20 per million tokens for Opus 5.5, versus $0.50 for Opus 5. The page also lists Opus 5.5 cache writes at $5 per million, versus $6.25 for Opus 5.
Sources: Claude Opus 5.5
Fast mode and typical-workload cost
Fast mode for Opus 5.5 is available in Claude Code and the Claude Platform. It can reach up to 2.5 times the speed and costs $8 per million input tokens and $40 per million output tokens.
Anthropic says its tests at default settings show Opus 5.5 costs 40% less than Opus 5 on typical workloads. That is the company's typical-workload estimate, not a guaranteed saving for every prompt or task.
Sources: Claude Opus 5.5
Subscription usage limits
Separately from API token pricing, Anthropic says it is increasing five-hour usage limits on Pro, Max, Team, and seat-based Enterprise plans. It also says subscription users receive a rate-limit reset they can save and use whenever they choose.
The announcement does not give the new limit amounts or specify when the increases take effect. It also does not state that the subscription limits change the API's per-token rates.
Sources: Claude Opus 5.5
AI assisted reporting, checked against the linked official sources. Source pages checked 2026-09-30. Editorial process and corrections.