Anthropic has released a version of its artificial intelligence model that it once deemed too dangerous for public use, sparking both excitement and debate over its steep pricing. Dubbed Fable 5, the model offers what the company calls “Mythos-level” performance but with built-in safety mechanisms that revert to the older Claude Opus 4.8 when users query high-risk topics like cybersecurity, biology, or chemistry.
Fable 5 is included in the Claude subscription only until June 22, after which users must pay full price. The cost has drawn criticism online, with one Reddit user complaining: “A few prompts just to test it out and it ate 5% of my monthly allowance… I have no reason to use this without a trust fund.”
Pricing and Performance
Anthropic charges $10 (approximately €9) per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens for Fable 5—double the price of its previous flagship, Claude Opus 4.8. Tokens, the basic units of data processed by AI, roughly correspond to 750 words per 1,000 tokens in English. The higher cost reflects Fable 5’s ability to handle more complex tasks, such as running multiple AI agents autonomously for days, extracting precise data from scientific figures, and rebuilding web app source code from screenshots.
“Fable 5 has the highest score of any model, with substantial gains in document-based reasoning, chart and table interpretation, and problem solving,” Anthropic stated.
In comparison, OpenAI’s standard GPT-5.5 costs $5 per million input tokens and $30 per million output tokens, making Fable 5 more expensive. However, Fable 5 undercuts OpenAI’s pro version of GPT-5.5. The pricing war is intensifying as companies become more cost-conscious about AI deployment. According to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday, OpenAI is considering cutting prices for paid access to its models, a move that could reshape the competitive landscape.
Market Moves and European Implications
The rivalry extends beyond pricing. OpenAI filed for an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission this week, following Anthropic’s similar move last week. Both companies are racing to secure valuations in a market that is seeing an unprecedented wave of AI-related IPOs. For European investors and businesses, these developments signal shifting dynamics in the global AI sector, with potential impacts on access and affordability across the continent.
Anthropic has also committed €170 million to study AI’s impact on European and global jobs, a move that underscores its interest in the European market. Meanwhile, the company’s co-founder has warned of losing control as AI nears self-improvement, adding a layer of caution to the rapid deployment of powerful models like Fable 5.
As the AI arms race heats up, the question remains whether Fable 5’s advanced capabilities justify its premium price, especially as OpenAI prepares to offer cheaper alternatives. For European users, the outcome of this competition could determine the cost and availability of cutting-edge AI tools in the months ahead.
