Claude Opus 4.7 vs Claude Opus 4.8

Anthropic · US  |  Anthropic · US · Updated June 2026

Quick verdict

Both are Anthropic models. Claude Opus 4.8 is the newer, generally stronger default; reach for Claude Opus 4.7 when its lower price or specific profile matters more than the latest capabilities.

Claude Opus 4.7 and Claude Opus 4.8 are both Anthropic models, so the real question is not which lab to trust but which tier fits your workload and budget. Claude Opus 4.7 is the agentic-coding-focused Opus that traded some long-context recall for long-run reliability. Claude Opus 4.8 is the agentic-coding and judgment leader — highest SWE-Bench Pro score ever recorded at launch. Since both come from the same lab, the comparison below focuses on the tier-and-cost trade-offs that actually separate them.

Key differences at a glance

Side-by-side specs

SpecClaude Opus 4.7Claude Opus 4.8
ProviderAnthropic (US) Anthropic (US)
ReleasedApril 2026 May 28, 2026
Context window1M (~1,500 pages) 1M (~1,500 pages)
Price (in/out)$5/$25 per 1M tokens $5/$25 per 1M tokens
Open weight?No — API only No — API only
Modalitiestext, image, code text, image, code
SWE-Bench VerifiedNot published 88.6%
MRCR v2 @ 1M32.2% Not published

Who wins what

Long-running agentic coding workflows

Claude Opus 4.7

A core design strength of Claude Opus 4.7.

Precise instruction following

Claude Opus 4.7

A core design strength of Claude Opus 4.7.

Task budgets and effort tiers

Claude Opus 4.7

A core design strength of Claude Opus 4.7.

Agentic coding and multi-file debugging

Claude Opus 4.8

A core design strength of Claude Opus 4.8.

Long autonomous tasks

Claude Opus 4.8

A core design strength of Claude Opus 4.8.

Honest uncertainty flagging

Claude Opus 4.8

A core design strength of Claude Opus 4.8.

Which should you pick?

Anyone whose priority is long-running agentic coding workflows

Claude Opus 4.7

It is specifically built for that.

Anyone whose priority is agentic coding and multi-file debugging

Claude Opus 4.8

That is its strongest area.

Claude Opus 4.7: where it fits

The agentic-coding-focused Opus that traded some long-context recall for long-run reliability. Released April 2026 by Anthropic, it is built for long-running agentic coding workflows, precise instruction following, task budgets and effort tiers, and large-codebase operation.

Its trade-offs are real: long-context recall regressed vs 4.6, and superseded by Opus 4.8. At $5 in / $25 out per million tokens, it sits in the premium price band.

Claude Opus 4.8: where it fits

The agentic-coding and judgment leader — highest SWE-Bench Pro score ever recorded at launch. Released May 28, 2026 by Anthropic, it is built for agentic coding and multi-file debugging, long autonomous tasks, honest uncertainty flagging, and professional writing and reasoning.

Its trade-offs: highest per-token price of the frontier tier, and not the cheapest for high-volume work. At $5 in / $25 out per million tokens, it sits in the premium price band.

The bottom line for this matchup

Because Claude Opus 4.7 and Claude Opus 4.8 come from the same lab (Anthropic), they share the same training philosophy and ecosystem — the decision is purely tier vs. cost. Claude Opus 4.8 is the more capable, more recent option; the other earns its place only when its price or latency profile fits a specific job better. Most teams should default to Claude Opus 4.8 and drop down only with a concrete reason.

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See pricing

Frequently asked questions

Is Claude Opus 4.7 or Claude Opus 4.8 better for coding?

Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for Claude Opus 4.7, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Claude Opus 4.7 leans toward long-running agentic coding workflows while Claude Opus 4.8 leans toward agentic coding and multi-file debugging, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.

Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 4.7 or Claude Opus 4.8?

They are priced almost identically, so cost will not decide between them.

Which has the bigger context window?

Both advertise 1M (~1,500 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.

Should I upgrade from Claude Opus 4.7 to Claude Opus 4.8?

Since both are Anthropic models, the newer one (Claude Opus 4.8) is usually the better default unless you need a specific cost or latency profile from the other.

Which is newer, Claude Opus 4.7 or Claude Opus 4.8?

Claude Opus 4.8 — released May 28, 2026, about 41 days after Claude Opus 4.7.

Related comparisons

Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.