On June 30, 2026, Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 5, its most capable mid-tier model to date, and immediately set it as the default experience for every user across all subscription tiers ![]()
. This move puts near-frontier AI capabilities—autonomous task execution, browser and terminal use, and performance approaching the flagship Opus 4.8—into the hands of free users, Pro subscribers, and API developers alike, while cutting costs compared to higher-tier models.
Pricing: A Limited-Time Introductory Rate
Anthropic is offering Claude Sonnet 5 at an introductory API price through August 31, 2026
. After that date, standard pricing takes effect:
| Period | Input (per million tokens) | Output (per million tokens) |
|---|
| Through Aug 31, 2026 | $2 | $10 |
| Starting Sept 1, 2026 | $3 | $15 |
These prices are confirmed on Anthropic's official pricing page ![]()
. The introductory rates apply to all API usage, including batch and cache tiers . At standard pricing, Sonnet 5's input cost is ($3 vs. $5 per million tokens), and during the introductory period the gap widens to ($2 vs. $5) .