Anthropic launches Claude Haiku 4.5, matching Sonnet 4 performance at lower cost
On Wednesday Anthropic launched Claude Haiku 4.5, pitching it as a slimmer cousin of its flagship. The company calls it a “small” language model, yet internal tests say it hits the same performance levels Claude Sonnet 4 hit back in May. The twist is the price tag - about a third of what Sonnet costs - and it reportedly runs more than twice as fast.
For developers and enterprises, those numbers could tip the scales when deciding whether to adopt a new model. Anthropic says Haiku 4.5 is already live in the Claude app and on the web, but it hasn’t shared a detailed rollout timeline or exact pricing beyond the cost ratio. If the claims hold, users might enjoy quicker answers without the premium that usually comes with cutting-edge models.
The launch seems to underline Anthropic’s push toward efficiency as it broadens its lineup. So far, no independent benchmarks have been published, meaning we’ll have to wait for third-party validation. I’ll be watching how quickly teams start using it as the model rolls out.
On Wednesday, Anthropic released Claude Haiku 4.5, a small AI language model that reportedly delivers performance similar to what its frontier model Claude Sonnet 4 achieved five months ago but at one-third the cost and more than twice the speed. The new model is available now to all Claude app, web, and API users. If the benchmarks for Haiku 4.5 reported by Anthropic hold up to independent testing, the fact that the company can match some capabilities of its cutting-edge coding model from only five months ago (and GPT-5 in coding) while providing a dramatic speed increase and cost cut is notable.
As a recap, Anthropic ships the Claude family in three model sizes: Haiku (small), Sonnet (medium), and Opus (large). The larger models are based on larger neural networks and typically include deeper contextual knowledge but are slower and more expensive to run. Due to a technique called distillation, companies like Anthropic have been able to craft smaller AI models that match the capability of larger, older models at functional tasks like coding, although it typically comes at the cost of omitting stored knowledge.
Anthropic dropped Claude Haiku 4.5 on Wednesday - a leaner model it says can hold its own against the five-month-old Claude Sonnet 4. In theory it should hit similar quality while costing about a third as much and running more than twice as fast. The good news for developers is that it shows up right away in the Claude app, on the web and via the API, so there’s no extra deployment hassle.
The catch? All the numbers come from Anthropic’s own tests; we haven’t seen any independent benchmarks yet. If outside labs confirm the claim, the price-speed combo could be a real draw for teams watching their spend.
On the other hand, without third-party data it’s hard to know how the model handles niche prompts or tricky edge cases. So, while Haiku 4.5 adds another tool to Anthropic’s lineup, its actual usefulness will stay a question mark until more eyes take a look.
More in LLMs & Generative AI
Google pushes Gemini rollout to 2026, delays Android Assistant swap
Why does this matter now? For years, Android users have expected a smooth handoff from the familiar...
OpenAI now adds tone controls and streamlined email editing to ChatGPT
OpenAI just rolled out a set of tweaks that feel oddly personal for a chatbot. While the core model...
Google releases FunctionGemma, a tiny model for natural‑language mobile control
Here's the thing: mobile phones are the most common computing platform, yet most AI assistants...
Chinese scammers used AI images for refund fraud; police held buyer eight days
When a shopper in Shanghai posted a video of a defective product, the footage looked...
Gemini pulls Google Calendar data to auto‑suggest meeting times in email replies
Why does this matter? In a flood of AI shortcuts that promise to shave minutes off daily tasks,...
Common Questions Answered
What performance level does Claude Haiku 4.5 achieve compared to Claude Sonnet 4?
Claude Haiku 4.5 reportedly delivers performance similar to what the frontier model Claude Sonnet 4 achieved five months ago. Anthropic's internal benchmarks indicate it hits the same performance marks that Sonnet 4 reached in May.
What are the key economic advantages of using Claude Haiku 4.5 over previous models?
The new model operates at roughly one-third the cost of its predecessor, Claude Sonnet 4. Additionally, it processes requests at more than double the speed, making it significantly more economical for developers and enterprises.
How is Claude Haiku 4.5 described in terms of its model size and architecture?
Anthropic describes Claude Haiku 4.5 as a 'small' language model and positions it as a leaner, more compact alternative to its flagship models. This design represents an attempt to shrink flagship performance into a smaller, more efficient engine.
Through which platforms can users immediately access Claude Haiku 4.5?
The model is available now to all users through the Claude app, web interface, and API. This instant accessibility means no additional setup is required for existing Claude users to start utilizing the new model.