Pick Claude Opus 4.7 for long-running agentic coding workflows or precise instruction following. Pick Grok 4.5 for cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost or extreme token efficiency — around 4x fewer output tokens per task than opus 4.8. On a tight budget at scale, Grok 4.5 is the value pick.
Claude Opus 4.7 (Anthropic) and Grok 4.5 (xAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Claude Opus 4.7 is the agentic-coding-focused Opus that traded some long-context recall for long-run reliability. Grok 4.5 is xAI's first coding-focused model — pitched as Opus-class but faster, more token-efficient, and cheaper, undercutting GPT-5.5-Codex. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences
Price: Grok 4.5 is about 2.5× cheaper on input ($2/$6 per 1M tokens vs $5/$25 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
Context window: Claude Opus 4.7 holds 2× more — 1M (~1,500 pages) vs 500K (~750 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
Recency: Grok 4.5 is the newer model by about 3 months (released July 8, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
Claude Opus 4.7
Grok 4.5
Provider
Anthropic (US)
xAI (US)
Released
April 16, 2026
July 8, 2026
Context window
1M (~1,500 pages)
500K (~750 pages)
Price (in/out)
$5/$25 per 1M tokens
$2/$6 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, image, code
SWE-Bench Verified
87.6%
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
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.
Cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about GPT-5.5-Codex quality at roughly half the cost: Grok 4.5 — A core design strength of Grok 4.5.
Extreme token efficiency — around 4x fewer output tokens per task than Opus 4.8: Grok 4.5 — A core design strength of Grok 4.5.
In-IDE coding, trained on real Cursor developer sessions and shipped natively in Cursor: Grok 4.5 — A core design strength of Grok 4.5.
Lowest cost at scale: Grok 4.5 — At $2/$6 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input: Claude Opus 4.7 — Its 1M window is about 2× larger, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: Grok 4.5 — At $2/$6 per 1M tokens it undercuts Claude Opus 4.7, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases: Claude Opus 4.7 — Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is long-running agentic coding workflows: Claude Opus 4.7 — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost: Grok 4.5 — 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 16, 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.
Grok 4.5: where it fits
XAI's first coding-focused model — pitched as Opus-class but faster, more token-efficient, and cheaper, undercutting GPT-5.5-Codex. Released July 8, 2026 by xAI, it is built for cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about GPT-5.5-Codex quality at roughly half the cost, extreme token efficiency — around 4x fewer output tokens per task than Opus 4.8, in-IDE coding, trained on real Cursor developer sessions and shipped natively in Cursor, and top-tier placement on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index.
Its trade-offs: smaller 500K context (halved from the 1M generation), with pricing that doubles above 200K tokens, and eU launch delayed; no open weights. At $2 in / $6 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Claude Opus 4.7 and Grok 4.5 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Grok 4.5 costs less per token; Claude Opus 4.7 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Claude Opus 4.7 for long-running agentic coding workflows, Grok 4.5 for cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Claude Opus 4.7 or Grok 4.5 better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for Grok 4.5, 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 Grok 4.5 leans toward cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 4.7 or Grok 4.5?
Grok 4.5 is cheaper — $5/$25 per 1M tokens vs $2/$6 per 1M tokens, roughly 2.5× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Claude Opus 4.7 — 1M vs 500K, about 2× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Claude Opus 4.7 and Grok 4.5 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Claude Opus 4.7, Grok 4.5 and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Claude Opus 4.7 or Grok 4.5?
Grok 4.5 — released July 8, 2026, about 3 months after Claude Opus 4.7.
Claude Opus 4.7 vs Grok 4.5
Anthropic · US | xAI · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Claude Opus 4.7 for long-running agentic coding workflows or precise instruction following. Pick Grok 4.5 for cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost or extreme token efficiency — around 4x fewer output tokens per task than opus 4.8. On a tight budget at scale, Grok 4.5 is the value pick.
Claude Opus 4.7 (Anthropic) and Grok 4.5 (xAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Claude Opus 4.7 is the agentic-coding-focused Opus that traded some long-context recall for long-run reliability. Grok 4.5 is xAI's first coding-focused model — pitched as Opus-class but faster, more token-efficient, and cheaper, undercutting GPT-5.5-Codex. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
▸Price: Grok 4.5 is about 2.5× cheaper on input ($2/$6 per 1M tokens vs $5/$25 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
▸Context window: Claude Opus 4.7 holds 2× more — 1M (~1,500 pages) vs 500K (~750 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
▸Recency: Grok 4.5 is the newer model by about 3 months (released July 8, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
Claude Opus 4.7
Grok 4.5
Provider
Anthropic (US)
xAI (US)
Released
April 16, 2026
July 8, 2026
Context window
1M (~1,500 pages)
500K (~750 pages)
Price (in/out)
$5/$25 per 1M tokens
$2/$6 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, image, code
SWE-Bench Verified
87.6%
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
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.
Cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about GPT-5.5-Codex quality at roughly half the cost
Grok 4.5
A core design strength of Grok 4.5.
Extreme token efficiency — around 4x fewer output tokens per task than Opus 4.8
Grok 4.5
A core design strength of Grok 4.5.
In-IDE coding, trained on real Cursor developer sessions and shipped natively in Cursor
Grok 4.5
A core design strength of Grok 4.5.
Lowest cost at scale
Grok 4.5
At $2/$6 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input
Claude Opus 4.7
Its 1M window is about 2× larger, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Grok 4.5
At $2/$6 per 1M tokens it undercuts Claude Opus 4.7, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Claude Opus 4.7
Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is long-running agentic coding workflows
→ Claude Opus 4.7
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost
→ Grok 4.5
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 16, 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.
Grok 4.5: where it fits
XAI's first coding-focused model — pitched as Opus-class but faster, more token-efficient, and cheaper, undercutting GPT-5.5-Codex. Released July 8, 2026 by xAI, it is built for cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about GPT-5.5-Codex quality at roughly half the cost, extreme token efficiency — around 4x fewer output tokens per task than Opus 4.8, in-IDE coding, trained on real Cursor developer sessions and shipped natively in Cursor, and top-tier placement on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index.
Its trade-offs: smaller 500K context (halved from the 1M generation), with pricing that doubles above 200K tokens, and eU launch delayed; no open weights. At $2 in / $6 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Claude Opus 4.7 and Grok 4.5 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Grok 4.5 costs less per token; Claude Opus 4.7 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Claude Opus 4.7 for long-running agentic coding workflows, Grok 4.5 for cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Claude Opus 4.7 and Grok 4.5 without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for Grok 4.5, 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 Grok 4.5 leans toward cheap, token-efficient agentic coding — about gpt-5.5-codex quality at roughly half the cost, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 4.7 or Grok 4.5?
Grok 4.5 is cheaper — $5/$25 per 1M tokens vs $2/$6 per 1M tokens, roughly 2.5× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Claude Opus 4.7 — 1M vs 500K, about 2× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Claude Opus 4.7 and Grok 4.5 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Claude Opus 4.7, Grok 4.5 and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Claude Opus 4.7 or Grok 4.5?
Grok 4.5 — released July 8, 2026, about 3 months after Claude Opus 4.7.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.