Claude Fable 5
what does it cost on your plan?
This has stopped being a question about whether you can use it and become a question about which route you are on. The API and consumption-based Enterprise are available throughout; Anthropic's own subscriptions have been tiered by plan since July 19, 2026. Here are both threads, kept apart.
Calling claude-fable-5 through the API on QCode works normally — our upstream route reopened on July 15, 2026. If you are on one of Anthropic's own subscription plans, Fable 5 has been treated differently by plan tier since July 19; see the matrix below.
Updated July 30, 2026 — we refresh this page as the situation changes.
What does Fable 5 cost on your plan?
Where Anthropic's subscription side landed after July 19, 2026. This is tiering, not removal.
Fable 5 is included as a standard part of the plan, with nothing extra to pay.
Premium seats are treated like Max: Fable 5 is part of what the seat includes.
Fable 5 still works, but it draws on usage credits rather than being covered by the plan's allowance.
Same treatment as Pro: available, but billed against usage credits.
The matrix above describes rules for Anthropic's own subscription plans. The API and consumption-based Enterprise stayed available throughout and never entered this tiering. QCode is that API route — your key, quota and billing do not change because the subscription side did.
Two threads, laid out by date
Upstream availability and subscription-plan rules are different things. This page labels them separately instead of running them together.
Launched, then suspended worldwide three days later
Fable 5 shipped as the flagship tier above Opus (1M context, 128K output, $10/$50) and went dark worldwide three days later under a US export-control directive. That was a compliance and policy matter, not a defect in the model.
Anthropic announces Fable 5 is leaving subscription plans
The announcement drew a strong reaction from users. Note that this thread is about commercial plan rules, which is a separate question from whether the model can be called at all.
Two extensions
Under the pushback the deadline moved first to July 12, then again to July 19.
The QCode upstream route reopens
Our upstream route resumed serving Fable 5. Selecting claude-fable-5 works again, automatically and across every plan, with no re-subscription and no migration.
Where subscriptions landed: tiered, not removed
After the extensions ran out the outcome was tiering by plan: Max and Team/Enterprise premium seats keep Fable 5 as a standard part of the plan, while Pro and standard Team seats moved to pay-as-you-go usage credits.
Entries marked upstream availability are about whether the model can be called on the QCode route. Entries marked subscription rules are about commercial arrangements on Anthropic's own plans. The two are not the same thing.
Fable 5 specs & pricing (live now)
The numbers you are running against today.
$10 input / $50 output — flagship tier, above Opus 4.8's $5 / $25.
1M tokens, built for very long documents, repos and multi-step agent runs.
128K tokens per response — room for large refactors and long reports.
Flagship long-horizon tier; a premium option sitting above Opus 4.8 for the most sustained tasks.
Specs and prices reflect Fable 5 as of July 2026. If Anthropic restates them, we will update this page.
What this means for you
Three things — find the one that matches how you connect.
1. First, work out which route you are on
On the API (including QCode), this round of subscription tiering does not concern you and there is nothing to do. On one of Anthropic's own subscriptions, find your row in the matrix above.
2. On a subscription: watch your usage credits
If you are on Pro or a standard Team seat, Fable 5 now draws on usage credits. Glance at the balance before starting heavy work so a long task does not stop halfway.
3. Want predictable rules? Use the API
The API side was never pulled into this. One key covers Fable 5, Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 5, and switching models is just a different model id.
Want the full deep-dive instead of the status?
This page is the availability tracker. For the complete capability breakdown — coding strengths, vision, agentic abilities, migration code and model comparisons — read the full Fable 5 guide.
Read the full Claude Fable 5 guide →Frequently asked questions
Is Claude Fable 5 still available?
Yes, though it depends on how you connect. Calling claude-fable-5 through the API — including on QCode — works throughout. On Anthropic's own subscription plans it has been tiered since July 19, 2026: standard in the plan on Max and on Team/Enterprise premium seats, and pay-as-you-go usage credits on Pro plans and standard Team seats.
Does my plan include Fable 5?
On Max plans, and on premium seats in Team and Enterprise, Fable 5 is a standard part of the plan. Pro plans and standard Team seats can still use Fable 5, but it bills against usage credits rather than the plan's allowance. The API and consumption-based Enterprise are not covered by this tiering at all.
What actually happened in July 2026?
On July 7 Anthropic announced Fable 5 would leave subscription plans, which drew pushback; the deadline moved to July 12 and then to July 19; and what finally landed was tiering by plan rather than removal. Keep this separate from the June export-control suspension, which was a different matter and was resolved on our route on July 15.
Are developers on the API affected?
No. The API and consumption-based Enterprise stayed available throughout and never entered this subscription tiering. On QCode your key, quota and billing are unchanged by what happened on Anthropic's subscription side.
How should I choose between Fable 5, Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 5?
Fable 5 ($10/$50 per million tokens) is the flagship tier above Opus, worth it for your hardest coding, judgment and long-horizon agentic work. Opus 4.8 ($5/$25) remains the value pick and Sonnet 5 is the budget mid-tier. All three share one key on QCode and switching is a model-id change — nothing forces you to move.
One key, three tiers, rules that do not shift with subscription policy
Run Fable 5, Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 5 side by side on QCode — one balance, one API. Plans from $8.57/mo; the key goes live the moment payment clears.
Related reading
Claude Fable 5 — full guide
The complete capability, pricing and migration deep-dive for Fable 5.
Claude Sonnet 5
The new default mid-tier model — approaches Opus 4.8 at a lower price.
AI Model Radar 2026
Live availability and status across the frontier models we track.
Claude Opus 4.8 — guide
The recommended fallback: still the leader on the hardest tasks.