Claude Sonnet 5 price increase: what changes on September 1, 2026
Claude Sonnet 5 launched with introductory API pricing of $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, in effect through August 31, 2026. From September 1, 2026 the standard rate applies: $3 input / $15 output, a 50% increase on every line item, caches and batch included. Verified against Anthropic's pricing page on 2026-07-22.
The full before and after
| Per 1M tokens | Through Aug 31 | From Sep 1 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input | $2 | $3 | +50% |
| Output | $10 | $15 | +50% |
| Cache read | $0.20 | $0.30 | +50% |
| Cache write (5 min) | $2.50 | $3.75 | +50% |
| Cache write (1 hour) | $4 | $6 | +50% |
| Batch input | $1 | $1.50 | +50% |
| Batch output | $5 | $7.50 | +50% |
One multiplier moves everything: cache reads stay 0.1x input, cache writes 1.25x and 2x, batch stays half price. Whatever your caching mix, the September increase on Sonnet 5 is exactly 50%.
What your usage will cost
Enter a month of Sonnet 5 usage in millions of tokens. Everything computes in your browser.
Through Aug 31
$38.40/mo
From Sep 1
$57.60/mo
Your September delta
+$19.20/mo
Cache writes are left out to keep the inputs simple; they move by the same 50%, so the percentage holds for any mix and only the absolute dollars shift slightly.
Who pays more, who does not
Not affected
Claude Pro and Max subscription prices: the flat plan rates are set separately. If you run Claude Code on a plan, your monthly price does not move on September 1.
Affected
Anything metered per token at list rates: pay-as-you-go API usage, BYOK tools, batch jobs, and the value of plan usage when priced at API rates. Sonnet 5 work costs 50% more from September 1.
This is the first scheduled model-price move since the AI Price Index started its dated ledger, and it gets recorded on the day it happens. Goei prices usage at the rate that was live on the day it ran, so an August Sonnet 5 session keeps its August value and a September one meters at September rates, with no restatement of your history. How that works: re-priced history.
Against the alternatives, from September
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 lists the same $3 / $15 sticker, so the launch discount that made Sonnet 5 the cheaper pick disappears. Note the fine print: per Anthropic, Sonnet 5's newer tokenizer produces roughly 30% more tokens for the same text, so equal stickers do not mean equal bills for equal work.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 stays at $1 / $5, one third of the new Sonnet 5 rate, unchanged by this move.
- GitHub Copilot lists its Sonnet 5 credit rate as promotional through August 31, 2026 as well, with no published follow-on rate. Details on the Claude Sonnet 5 in Copilot page.
- Current list rates for every major provider, dated and sourced, live in the AI Price Index.
FAQ
- How much does Claude Sonnet 5 cost after September 1, 2026?
- $3 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens on the Claude API, with cache reads at $0.30, 5-minute cache writes at $3.75, and batch processing at half the base rates. Every line item is exactly 50% above the introductory rate.
- Why is Sonnet 5 cheaper right now?
- Anthropic launched Claude Sonnet 5 with introductory pricing of $2 input / $10 output per million tokens, in effect through August 31, 2026. The standard rate of $3 / $15 takes effect on September 1, 2026. Both rates are published on Anthropic's pricing page.
- Does the increase change Claude Pro or Claude Max subscription prices?
- No. Subscription plan prices are set separately and are not part of this change. The increase applies to API metering: pay-as-you-go API usage, BYOK setups, and anything else billed per token at list rates.
- Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 cheaper than Sonnet 5 after the change?
- The stickers match: both list $3 / $15 from September 1. Per Anthropic, Sonnet 5 uses a newer tokenizer that produces roughly 30% more tokens for the same text, so identical work meters more tokens on Sonnet 5 than on Sonnet 4.6 at the same per-token price. The exact difference depends on your content.
- Does GitHub Copilot's Sonnet 5 rate change too?
- GitHub also labels its Copilot rate for Claude Sonnet 5 as promotional through August 31, 2026, but has not published the rate that follows. Copilot meters in AI credits at its own rate card, so the Copilot side is a separate change.