Claude Opus 5.5 vs GPT-6 Luna

Anthropic · US  |  OpenAI · US · Updated June 2026

Quick verdict

Pick Claude Opus 5.5 for performs at roughly claude fable 5.1's level on most work, at 40% lower typical workload cost than opus 5 or anthropic reports it surpasses fable 5.1 on agentic coding, knowledge work, computer use, visual chart recognition, and multidisciplinary reasoning. Pick GPT-6 Luna for openai's cheapest gpt-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume or available to free and go plan users in the chatgpt desktop app, not gated to paid tiers. On a tight budget at scale, GPT-6 Luna is the value pick.

Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) and GPT-6 Luna (OpenAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Claude Opus 5.5 is anthropic's September 22, 2026 update: Fable 5.1-level performance at 40% lower cost than Opus 5, with faster output and cheaper caching. GPT-6 Luna is openAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier, released September 22, 2026 alongside GPT-6 Sol — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, built for speed over depth. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.

Key differences at a glance

Side-by-side specs

SpecClaude Opus 5.5GPT-6 Luna
ProviderAnthropic (US) OpenAI (US)
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2026 September 22, 2026
Context window1M tokens (~1,500 pages) 1.05M tokens (~1,575 pages)
Price (in/out)$4/$20 per 1M tokens $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens
Open weight?No — API only No — API only
Modalitiestext, image, code text, image
SWE-Bench VerifiedNot published Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1MNot published Not published

Who wins what

Performs at roughly Claude Fable 5.1's level on most work, at 40% lower typical workload cost than Opus 5

Claude Opus 5.5

GPT-6 Luna is comparatively weak here — as the entry-level tier, expect it to be the first model swapped out when OpenAI ships the next cost-tier refresh

Anthropic reports it surpasses Fable 5.1 on agentic coding, knowledge work, computer use, visual chart recognition, and multidisciplinary reasoning

Claude Opus 5.5

GPT-6 Luna is comparatively weak here — less reasoning capability than sibling GPT-6 Sol — built for speed and volume, not hard problems

Pricing cut to $4/$20 per million tokens (20% below Opus 5's $5/$25), cache reads down 60% to $0.20/MTok

Claude Opus 5.5

Claude Opus 5.5 lists pricing cut to $4/$20 per million tokens (20% below Opus 5's $5/$25), cache reads down 60% to $0.20/MTok among its strengths; GPT-6 Luna does not.

OpenAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume

GPT-6 Luna

At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts Claude Opus 5.5 ($4/$20 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.

Available to Free and Go plan users in the ChatGPT desktop app, not gated to paid tiers

GPT-6 Luna

Claude Opus 5.5 is comparatively weak here — like Opus 5, the headline 1M-token context is not uniformly available across every platform and plan — some API paths default to a smaller window

Cache reads at $0.01/MTok — a 90% discount, the cheapest in the GPT-6 family

GPT-6 Luna

Claude Opus 5.5 is comparatively weak here — first model in the 5.5 line; Anthropic has signaled Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5 are still weeks away, so the lower tiers of the family aren't out yet

Lowest cost at scale

GPT-6 Luna

At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.

Which should you pick?

A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume

GPT-6 Luna

At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts Claude Opus 5.5, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.

Someone analysing very long documents or codebases

GPT-6 Luna

Larger 1.05M tokens window fits more in one prompt.

Anyone whose priority is performs at roughly claude fable 5.1's level on most work, at 40% lower typical workload cost than opus 5

Claude Opus 5.5

It is specifically built for that.

Anyone whose priority is openai's cheapest gpt-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume

GPT-6 Luna

That is its strongest area.

Claude Opus 5.5: where it fits

Anthropic's September 22, 2026 update: Fable 5.1-level performance at 40% lower cost than Opus 5, with faster output and cheaper caching. Released September 22, 2026 by Anthropic, it is built for performs at roughly Claude Fable 5.1's level on most work, at 40% lower typical workload cost than Opus 5, anthropic reports it surpasses Fable 5.1 on agentic coding, knowledge work, computer use, visual chart recognition, and multidisciplinary reasoning, pricing cut to $4/$20 per million tokens (20% below Opus 5's $5/$25), cache reads down 60% to $0.20/MTok, and output speed increased over 30% versus Opus 5.

Its trade-offs are real: not a reasoning-ceiling upgrade over Fable 5.1 — pitched as matching its performance at lower cost, not beating it outright, like Opus 5, the headline 1M-token context is not uniformly available across every platform and plan — some API paths default to a smaller window, and first model in the 5.5 line; Anthropic has signaled Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5 are still weeks away, so the lower tiers of the family aren't out yet. At $4 in / $20 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.

GPT-6 Luna: where it fits

OpenAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier, released September 22, 2026 alongside GPT-6 Sol — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, built for speed over depth. Released September 22, 2026 by OpenAI, it is built for openAI's cheapest GPT-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume, available to Free and Go plan users in the ChatGPT desktop app, not gated to paid tiers, cache reads at $0.01/MTok — a 90% discount, the cheapest in the GPT-6 family, and 1.05M-token context window carried down from the flagship tier.

Its trade-offs: less reasoning capability than sibling GPT-6 Sol — built for speed and volume, not hard problems, and as the entry-level tier, expect it to be the first model swapped out when OpenAI ships the next cost-tier refresh. At $0.1 in / $0.5 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.

The bottom line for this matchup

Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Luna overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. GPT-6 Luna costs less per token; GPT-6 Luna holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Claude Opus 5.5 for performs at roughly claude fable 5.1's level on most work, at 40% lower typical workload cost than opus 5, GPT-6 Luna for openai's cheapest gpt-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.

Want both Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Luna 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.

See pricing

Frequently asked questions

Is Claude Opus 5.5 or GPT-6 Luna better for coding?

Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Claude Opus 5.5 leans toward performs at roughly claude fable 5.1's level on most work, at 40% lower typical workload cost than opus 5 while GPT-6 Luna leans toward openai's cheapest gpt-6 tier — $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens, optimized for fast responses at high volume, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.

Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 5.5 or GPT-6 Luna?

GPT-6 Luna is cheaper — $4/$20 per 1M tokens vs $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens, roughly 40× apart on input.

Which has the bigger context window?

Effectively neither — 1M tokens vs 1.05M tokens is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.

Can I use both Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Luna together?

Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Claude Opus 5.5, GPT-6 Luna 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 5.5 or GPT-6 Luna?

They were released around the same time (September 22, 2026 and September 22, 2026).

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.