# Claude Opus 4.6 — API pricing & integration guide | Y-API

> Claude Opus 4.6 is an earlier Opus-generation model built for coding and long-running professional work, with a 1M-token window and text, image and file input. It is priced identically to the newer Opus entries in this catalog.

This is the markdown representation of https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/models/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6. Generated by `scripts/generate-seo-assets.mjs` from the same copy the page renders — do not edit by hand.

Model ID: `anthropic/claude-opus-4.6`

Sources reviewed: 2026-10-11. Y-API catalog snapshot: 2026-10-11.

## Choosing this model

Selection advice by Y-API. The checks below are suggested evaluations, not published test results.

### Where to start

Use it for workflows that span many steps rather than a single prompt: a repository-wide change, a migration plan that has to stay consistent, or an agent that has to hold context across a long session.

### What to watch for

Anthropic publishes no open weights for this model, so there is no model card to cite and no way to inspect the checkpoint behind the API. The catalog price matches newer Opus entries, which makes the older version hard to justify on cost alone.

## Model specifications

These are OpenRouter model-level specifications, not a Y-API compatibility test. A particular route may accept fewer input formats, parameters or tokens. Verify the features you need with a small request; a successful text response does not validate vision or tool calling.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Input | Text, Image, File |
| Output | Text |
| Listed on OpenRouter | 2026-02-04 |
| Parameters listed by OpenRouter | `include_reasoning`, `max_completion_tokens`, `max_tokens`, `reasoning`, `reasoning_effort`, `response_format`, `stop`, `structured_outputs`, `temperature`, `tool_choice`, `tools`, `top_k`, `top_p`, `verbosity` |

## API pricing & cost estimate

| Price basis | Input / 1M tokens | Output / 1M tokens |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Account credit | $5.00 | $25.00 |
| Cash equivalent | $0.50 | $2.50 |

$1 paid adds $10 of credit. Cash equivalent = credit consumed ÷ 10; this is not the model publisher’s list price.

Input tokens / request: 1000. Output tokens / request: 500. Number of requests: 1000.

Estimated credit consumed: $17.50. Estimated cash equivalent: $1.75.

Illustrative token budget, not measured usage or a quote. Includes input and output; excludes separate media charges, cache discounts and retries. Include billed reasoning tokens in your output budget where applicable. Actual billing follows usage returned by the service.

### Same token budget, different models

| Model | Estimated credit consumed | Estimated cash equivalent |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Claude Opus 4.6](https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/models/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6) | $17.50 | $1.75 |
| [Claude Opus 4.7](https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/models/anthropic/claude-opus-4.7) | $17.50 | $1.75 |
| [Claude Opus 5](https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/models/anthropic/claude-opus-5) | $17.50 | $1.75 |

[View LLM API pricing & billing](https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/pricing)

## API integration examples

These minimal, text-only requests use the exact Y-API model ID. They do not demonstrate image, audio, video, file or tool support. The output limit also needs room for reasoning; an empty answer with finish_reason=length can mean the budget was exhausted.

Set the TOKEN environment variable to a key from your console. Run this on your server or locally; never expose a key in browser code or a public repository.

### A task to try

Here is a failing integration test and the module it exercises. Identify the root cause before proposing a fix, and say what evidence would confirm your diagnosis.

```bash
curl --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 120 \
  'https://api.y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/v1/chat/completions' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN:?Set TOKEN first}" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-binary @- <<'JSON'
{
  "model": "anthropic/claude-opus-4.6",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Here is a failing integration test and the module it exercises. Identify the root cause before proposing a fix, and say what evidence would confirm your diagnosis."
    }
  ],
  "max_tokens": 4096
}
JSON
```

```python
import json
import os
import sys
import urllib.error
import urllib.request

payload = {
  "model": "anthropic/claude-opus-4.6",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Here is a failing integration test and the module it exercises. Identify the root cause before proposing a fix, and say what evidence would confirm your diagnosis."
    }
  ],
  "max_tokens": 4096
}

request = urllib.request.Request(
    "https://api.y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/v1/chat/completions",
    data=json.dumps(payload).encode("utf-8"),
    headers={
        "Authorization": "Bearer " + os.environ["TOKEN"],
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    method="POST",
)
try:
    with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=120) as response:
        result = json.load(response)
    print(json.dumps(result, ensure_ascii=False, indent=2))
except urllib.error.HTTPError as error:
    print(error.read().decode("utf-8"), file=sys.stderr)
    raise SystemExit(1)
```

### How to evaluate the result

The diagnosis should point at a specific line and predict an observable consequence. A fix that makes the test pass without explaining the cause is not a pass.

## Before you choose

### Is there a model card for this Opus version?

No. Anthropic distributes Claude under closed weights, so the catalog records no publisher card rather than linking an unrelated repository. The OpenRouter model page is the specification source cited here.

## Sources & scope

Technical facts come from the cited model page and, where available, its linked publisher card. A card describes that checkpoint; it is not proof of the weights a gateway serves. Prices come only from the Y-API catalog. We do not claim measured latency, uptime or benchmark scores for this endpoint.

- [OpenRouter model page & specifications](https://openrouter.ai/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6)
- [Y-API catalog & prices (JSON)](https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/models.json)

## Models to compare

Compare these alternatives on the same inputs. Their descriptions explain different roles; a lower price does not establish equivalent quality.

### [Claude Opus 4.7](https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/models/anthropic/claude-opus-4.7)

Claude Opus 4.7 is the Opus-generation model built for long-running, asynchronous agents. It keeps the 1M-token window and text, image and file input of 4.6, and exposes reasoning effort as a selectable parameter.

### [Claude Opus 5](https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/models/anthropic/claude-opus-5)

Claude Opus 5 is positioned by OpenRouter as Anthropic’s model for demanding reasoning, software engineering and extended agent work. The reference entry lists text, image and file input with text output.

## Links

- HTML version of this page: https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/models/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
- Site index for agents: https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/llms.txt
- Full reference (single file): https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/llms-full.txt
- OpenAPI 3.1 spec: https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/openapi.json
- Model catalog (JSON, no key needed): https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/models.json
- API base URL: `https://api.y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/v1`
- Contact: support@bestvirtualgoods.com
- Model catalog: https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/models
- Integration guide: https://y-api.bestvirtualgoods.com/docs