Compare model APIs for agents that need tools, JSON mode, long context, and a budget you can live with.
Agent runs spit out a lot of tokens and burn money when tool loops go wrong. Before you wire one up, check tool calling, JSON reliability, context length, latency, and output price. Then set a budget so a bad loop cannot empty the account overnight.
Source basis: NextModel capability mapping and supported-parameter metadata when available. · Updated 2026-07-01
How to use this shortlist
Fit score
Start with the shortlist, then test real prompts and compare monthly cost before production routing in Canada.
Claude Fable 5 is a Mythos-class model from Anthropic, built for autonomous knowledge work and coding. It supports text, image, and file inputs with text output, with reasoning support and...
Claude Haiku 4.5 is Anthropic’s fastest and most efficient model, delivering near-frontier intelligence at a fraction of the cost and latency of larger Claude models. Matching Claude Sonnet 4’s performance...
Claude Opus 4.5 is Anthropic’s frontier reasoning model optimized for complex software engineering, agentic workflows, and long-horizon computer use. It offers strong multimodal capabilities, competitive performance across real-world coding and...
Opus 4.6 is Anthropic’s strongest model for coding and long-running professional tasks. It is built for agents that operate across entire workflows rather than single prompts, making it especially effective...
Comparison table
Use this view when narrowing a production shortlist, building a fallback policy, or comparing model economics for Canada-based teams.
| Model | Provider | Input | Output | Context | Capabilities | Best for | Latency | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic: Claude Fable 5anthropic/claude-fable-5 | Anthropic | $1.45 / 1M tokens | $7.23 / 1M tokens | 1M | StreamingTool callingJSON modeVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 1000-3000ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Anthropic: Claude Haiku 4.5anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5 | Anthropic | $0.145 / 1M tokens | $0.723 / 1M tokens | 200k | StreamingTool callingJSON modeVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 1000-3000ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.5anthropic/claude-opus-4.5 | Anthropic | $0.723 / 1M tokens | $3.62 / 1M tokens | 200k | StreamingTool callingJSON modeVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 1000-3000ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.6anthropic/claude-opus-4.6 | Anthropic | $0.723 / 1M tokens | $3.62 / 1M tokens | 1M | StreamingTool callingJSON modeVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 1000-3000ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.7anthropic/claude-opus-4.7 | Anthropic | $0.723 / 1M tokens | $3.62 / 1M tokens | 1M | StreamingTool callingJSON modeVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 1000-3000ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.8anthropic/claude-opus-4.8 | Anthropic | $0.723 / 1M tokens | $3.62 / 1M tokens | 1M | StreamingTool callingJSON modeVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 1000-3000ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Claude Opus 5anthropic/claude-opus-5 | Anthropic | $0.723 / 1M tokens | $3.62 / 1M tokens | 1M | StreamingTool callingJSON modeVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 1000-3000ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
| Anthropic: Claude Sonnet 4.5anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5 | Anthropic | $0.434 / 1M tokens | $2.17 / 1M tokens | 1M | StreamingTool callingJSON modeVision | image understanding, multimodal chat | 1000-3000ms | Catalog | Platform curated |
FAQ
Tool calling, structured JSON, enough context for the task, and instructions that stick. Everything else is secondary.
They generate long traces: planning text, tool results stuffed back into context, and retries. Cap steps and log token use per run.
No. Route planning or simple tool picks to cheaper models when quality allows, and reserve stronger models for hard steps.
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