Claude Sonnet 5.5: Faster at the Same Token Price, but Not Always Cheaper per Task
Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs the same per token as Sonnet 5 and generates output faster. Whether it costs less per task depends on the effort setting: Artificial Analysis measures a saving at Medium and a higher bill at Max, where Opus 5.5 at Xhigh matches its score for less. This guide covers the benchmark table with Anthropic’s footnotes, the six changes that can break API integrations, the first cyber safeguards on a Sonnet model, and how to divide work between Sonnet 5.5 and Opus 5.5.