Anthropic and OpenAI have launched cheaper artificial intelligence models within hours of each other, intensifying competition for enterprise customers as businesses demand more affordable AI services. The releases mark a shift in the industry, with companies increasingly focusing on the cost of deploying AI alongside model performance.
Anthropic introduced Claude Opus 5.5, while OpenAI unveiled GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna. Both companies positioned the new models as lower-cost options that retain capabilities from their more advanced systems. The launches also come as US AI companies face pressure from lower-cost open-weight models, particularly those developed in China.
Anthropic said, “Claude Opus 5.5 delivers performance comparable to its high-end Fable 5.1 model while costing about 40% less to operate than its predecessor, Opus 5. The model also underwent external safety testing before launch.”
The company priced Opus 5.5 at USD 4 per million input tokens and USD 20 per million output tokens, representing a 20% reduction from Opus 5.
Opus 5.5 is available through major cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Anthropic also plans to release Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5 in the coming weeks.
OpenAI introduced GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna as more affordable alternatives to its flagship GPT-6 Astra. The company said the new models offer some of Astra's capabilities while targeting everyday professional workloads and higher-volume use.
GPT-6 Sol costs USD 2 per million input tokens and USD 10 per million output tokens. GPT-6 Luna costs USD 0.10 per million input tokens and USD 0.50 per million output tokens, according to OpenAI's pricing details reported by MacRumors.
OpenAI attributed the lower costs to improvements in inference and caching. The company also said cached input-token reads can receive discounts of up to 90%.
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