Is Claude Opus 5.5 Free? What Free, Pro and the API Include
Written byOpus 5.5 Video team4. November 2026No, Claude Opus 5.5 isn’t free. It isn’t on Claude’s Free plan, which gives you Sonnet and Haiku. You get Opus 5.5 on a paid plan, starting with Pro at $20 a month, or on the API at $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens. New API accounts get a small amount of free credit to test with, and a few apps that run Opus 5.5 for you let you try it before you pay.
This guide sets out what each Claude plan includes, what the API costs, and the honest ways to try Opus 5.5 for free. We run Opus 5.5 Video, an independent site that uses Opus 5.5 to make short videos; we are not affiliated with Anthropic. Everything about Anthropic’s plans comes from its pricing page, its API pricing docs and the Opus 5.5 announcement, checked on November 4, 2026. Plans change, so check those pages before you buy.
In this article
TL;DR
- Claude Free plan: no Opus 5.5. You get Sonnet and Haiku, with limited usage.
- Claude Pro: includes Opus 5.5 and Claude Code, for $20 a month or $17 a month billed annually.
- API: no ongoing free tier. New users get a small amount of free credit, then Opus 5.5 is $4 in and $20 out per million tokens.
- Free ways to try it: API starter credit, or an app that runs Opus 5.5 for you and has a free trial. Opus 5.5 Video gives new accounts one free 10-second video.
Is Opus 5.5 Free in the Claude App?
No. Anthropic released Claude Opus 5.5 on September 22, 2026, for its paid plans and the API. The comparison table on the pricing page marks Opus as “No” for Free and “Yes” for every paid plan:
- Free
- Price: $0
- Opus 5.5: No (Sonnet and Haiku only)
- Claude Code: No
- Pro
- Price: $20 a month, or $17 a month billed annually
- Opus 5.5: Yes
- Claude Code: Yes
- Max
- Price: $100 a month (5x Pro usage)
- Opus 5.5: Yes
- Claude Code: Yes
- Ultra
- Price: $200 a month (10x Pro usage)
- Opus 5.5: Yes
- Claude Code: Yes
- Team
- Price: $25 per seat a month, or $20 billed annually; 2 to 150 seats
- Opus 5.5: Yes
- Claude Code: Yes
- Enterprise
- Price: $20 per seat a month billed annually, 20-seat minimum, plus usage
- Opus 5.5: Yes
- Claude Code: Yes
The Free plan is still useful: it includes chat on web, desktop and mobile, web search, files, Artifacts and memory. It just runs on Sonnet and Haiku, not Opus. If you open the model menu on a Free account and don’t see Opus 5.5, that is how the plan works, not a bug.
Does Claude Pro Have Opus 5.5?
Yes. Pro is the cheapest plan that includes Opus 5.5. It costs $20 a month, or $17 a month billed annually ($200 paid up front), and also includes Claude Code, Projects and more models than Free.
What to Know Before You Upgrade:
- Usage limits apply. Pro gives “more usage than Free”, reset every 5 hours and every week. Anthropic says how fast you reach a limit depends on the model you use, how long your chats are and how large your files are.
- Opus uses more of your limit. Because limits depend on the model, long Opus 5.5 chats use up your allowance faster than the same chats on Sonnet.
- Max and Ultra give more room. Max is $100 a month for 5x Pro usage, and Ultra is $200 a month for 10x Pro usage.
- Fable is extra on Pro. Anthropic’s top Fable models are paid with usage credits on Pro. Opus 5.5 isn’t; it comes out of your normal plan limits.
Is the Opus 5.5 API Free?
There is no free tier you can keep using. Anthropic’s pricing docs say that “new users receive a small amount of free credits to test the API”, and that is the only free API access it describes. After that, you pay for what you use:
- Input
- Price per million tokens: $4
- Output
- Price per million tokens: $20
- Cache hits
- Price per million tokens: $0.20
- Cache writes (5 minutes)
- Price per million tokens: $5
- Batch processing
- Price per million tokens: $2 input, $10 output
- Fast mode
- Price per million tokens: $8 input, $40 output
A million tokens is a lot of text, so single requests are cheap. A request with 10,000 tokens in and 5,000 tokens out costs about $0.04 + $0.10 = $0.14. What adds up is volume: an app or agent that sends thousands of requests a day.
It is also cheaper than the model before it. Anthropic says Opus 5.5’s input and output rates are 20% below Opus 5, cache reads are 60% cheaper, and it costs about 40% less to run on typical workloads. The API model name is claude-opus-5-5, and it is also offered through Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft, each with its own billing.
How to Try Opus 5.5 Without Paying
There are three honest routes. None of them is unlimited.
1. API starter credit
If you can write a little code, sign up on the Claude Platform and use the free credit new users get. It is enough to send test requests and see how Opus 5.5 answers your own prompts, not to run an app on.
2. An app that runs Opus 5.5 for you
Some apps are built on Opus 5.5 and let you try it before you pay. You don’t get the Claude chat app; you get what that app does with the model, and its own limits.
3. Opus 5.5 Video: one free 10-second video
That is how our site works. Opus 5.5 Video uses Opus 5.5 to write a short animation as code, and your browser draws every frame and encodes the MP4. You type what you want, pick a length and shape, and the button shows what it costs before you start.
Video Example: What a Free 10-Second Video Looks Like
Video Format: 10 seconds, 16:9, Motion style.
Written by Claude Opus 5.5 outside this website from the prompt below, following the same instructions our generator gives the model, and rendered with the site’s own player, music, sound effects and the watermark a free video carries. One change after the first draft: the price now waits for the wheel to leave the screen. Pinecrest Bikes is made up for this example.
What the Free Credits Cover:
- 300 free credits for new accounts. A 10-second video costs 280 credits, so that is one free video. Longer videos (15 to 30 seconds) cost 320, and a change costs 80.
- The same model as paid videos. Free videos are made by Opus 5.5 too, not a cheaper model.
- Watch it with a watermark. The free video plays in your browser with a watermark. The MP4 download unlocks after any purchase.
- No Claude account needed. You sign in with Google. You don’t need a Claude plan, Claude Code or an API key.
- Not in every region. Free credits aren’t offered everywhere, and there is one free video per account.
After that, the smallest purchase is 1,600 credits for $19, valid for 365 days with no subscription, or 2,400 credits a month for $19. See pricing.
Try Opus 5.5 With One Free Video
Type an idea, paste your ad text or a product link, and watch Opus 5.5 turn it into a 10-second animation.
Start Creating
Which Option Do You Need?
It depends on what you want Opus 5.5 to do:
- Chat, write and research
- Cheapest way with Opus 5.5: Claude Pro
- Cost: $20 a month, or $17 billed annually
- Write code with Claude Code
- Cheapest way with Opus 5.5: Claude Pro (Max for heavy use)
- Cost: $20 or $100 a month
- Build an app or run an agent
- Cheapest way with Opus 5.5: The API
- Cost: $4 / $20 per million tokens, after the starter credit
- Make short videos and animations without code
- Cheapest way with Opus 5.5: Opus 5.5 Video
- Cost: One free 10-second video, then from $19
- Make animations inside Claude at work
- Cheapest way with Opus 5.5: Claude Motion on a Team or Enterprise plan
- Cost: From $40 to $50 a month for 2 Team seats
For video, you can see what Opus 5.5 makes, with the prompt behind each clip, on our Opus 5.5 motion graphics page. Claude’s own animation feature is covered in our Claude Motion guide, and the prompt guide shows how to write a brief that works first time.
Be Careful With “Free Unlimited Opus 5.5” Offers
Every Opus 5.5 request costs whoever sends it at least $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens. Anthropic offers the model through its paid plans, its API and the big cloud providers, and none of those is free without limits. So when a site promises unlimited free Opus 5.5, ask how it pays for that.
Check Before You Sign Up:
- Does it name the exact model? Look for “Claude Opus 5.5” on the page, not just “Claude” or “AI”, so you know which model answers you.
- What are the limits? A real free offer says what you get: a number of messages, credits or videos.
- What does it ask for? Never share your Claude password or an API key with a site that promises free access.
One free 10-second video · No Claude plan needed
FAQs About Opus 5.5 Pricing
Is Claude Opus 5.5 free?
Not in the Claude app. On November 4, 2026, Anthropic’s pricing page lists Opus as “No” on the Free plan, which includes Sonnet and Haiku. Opus 5.5 comes with Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise, and on the API it is billed per token.
Does Claude Pro have Opus 5.5?
Yes. Pro includes Opus, along with Sonnet, Haiku and Claude Code. It costs $20 a month, or $17 a month billed annually ($200 up front). Usage limits apply, and Opus uses them up faster than smaller models.
Can I use Opus 5.5 on the Claude Free plan at all?
No. The Free plan doesn’t list Opus. You get Sonnet and Haiku with limited usage, which reset every 5 hours and every week.
Is there a free tier for the Opus 5.5 API?
There is no ongoing free tier. Anthropic says new API users receive a small amount of free credits to test the API. After that, Opus 5.5 costs $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens.
Is Opus 5.5 cheaper than Opus 5?
Yes. Anthropic says the input and output rates are 20% lower than Opus 5 and cache reads are 60% cheaper, and that it costs about 40% less to run on typical workloads.
Can I make a video with Opus 5.5 for free?
On Opus 5.5 Video, new accounts get 300 free credits, enough for one 10-second video made by Opus 5.5. It plays in your browser with a watermark; the MP4 download unlocks after any purchase. Free credits aren’t offered in every region.
Is Opus 5.5 Video made by Anthropic?
No. It is an independent product that uses the Claude Opus 5.5 model. You don’t need a Claude plan to use it.