Setup

Pick the right Claude model in 30 seconds

A free guide by Kamran Imam — Instagram · TikTok · YouTube

By the end of this page you’ll know which of Claude’s three models to use for any task — and when paying extra is actually worth it. I read the release notes and ran the comparisons so you don’t have to.

1. Know what you already have (1 minute)

As of July 2026, Sonnet 5 is the default model on Free and Pro plans. Check the model picker — the small dropdown near the message box. If it says Sonnet 5, you’re already on the model Anthropic’s own launch numbers put close to their premium model, Opus 4.8.

2. The 30-second rule (memorize this part)

Sonnet 5

Your daily driver. Writing, analysis, spreadsheets, research, most coding help. Included in every plan.

Opus 4.8

The hardest 10%. Long multi-step projects, gnarly debugging, anything you’d otherwise pay a specialist for. Included in paid plans.

Fable 5

Frontier-level work only. As of July 8, 2026 it’s not included in subscriptions anymore: it runs on pre-purchased credits at $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output — roughly double Opus. If you never enable credits, it simply disappears from your picker. No surprise charges.

3. Test on your work, not benchmarks (10 minutes)

Benchmarks measure their tasks. You care about yours. Pick one real task from this week and run this in Sonnet 5, then again in Opus 4.8:

Here's a real task from my week: [paste the task + any context it needs].

Do the task. If anything is ambiguous, ask me instead of guessing.
When you're done, list what extra context would have made your answer better.

Compare the two answers side by side. If you can’t tell the difference on your own work, the cheaper model wins. That’s the whole test.

4. Before you buy Fable 5 credits (2 minutes)

Do the math first: at $50 per million output tokens, a heavy day of long tasks costs real money. Ask one question — did Opus 4.8 actually fail this task, or did I just not try it? Run step 3 with Opus first. Buy credits only if it genuinely fell short.

Mistakes to avoid

Buying credits the week a model trends. FOMO isn’t a use case. Run the side-by-side first — most daily work can’t tell the difference.
Judging a model on one bad answer. Re-run with a cleaner prompt before blaming the model — see the prompts guide.
Leaving the expensive model selected out of habit. Asking Opus or Fable to draft a two-line email is paying specialist rates for an intern task.

One honest limit: model names, prices, and what’s “included” change fast — everything above is accurate as of July 2026, and I update this page when it changes.

Free, no signup, ever.

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