Overview
Claude is Anthropic's family of language models, generally positioned around careful, helpful behavior and strong reasoning and writing quality, spanning from large, capability-focused variants to smaller, faster ones optimized for cost and latency. The naming convention pairs a size tier — Opus, Sonnet, or Haiku — with a version number, making it possible to track both capability tier and generation at a glance.
LLMWIKI tracks Claude at both the family level, here, and the individual variant level, so you can get oriented on how the family is structured before drilling into a specific release's exact specs and pricing. Where a company ships multiple sizes or variants, the general pattern is a trade-off between capability, latency, and cost — larger or newer releases tend to handle harder, longer, or more ambiguous tasks more reliably, while smaller or older releases are cheaper and faster for simple, high-volume use.
Variants in the Claude Family
Where It Fits in Practice
- Choosing between Claude's size tiers based on your task's complexity and budget
- Understanding how Claude's naming convention maps size tier to generation
- Comparing Claude variants against each other before picking one for a specific task
- Following how the Claude family evolves across major version releases
- Evaluating Claude against competing model families for reasoning or writing-heavy tasks
Considerations
Claude variants differ substantially in cost and capability across the Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku tiers, so matching task complexity to the right tier matters for both quality and cost efficiency.
Frequently Asked
Which Claude variant should I start with?
That depends on your task's complexity, latency needs, and budget — see the variant profiles linked below for specifics on each.
How often does Claude release new versions?
Varies by lab and generation — check the individual variant pages for release history.
Are all Claude variants priced the same?
No — pricing and access vary by variant, with larger, more capable versions generally costing more per token.
Where can I compare Claude directly against a competing family?
See the Comparisons hub for head-to-head pages between specific models.
Is Claude available as open weights?
Availability varies by specific variant and license — check the individual model page for details.
How is this family page different from an individual model profile?
This page orients you across the Claude lineup as a whole; each individual variant has its own dedicated profile with specific benchmarks, pricing, and considerations.