Claude Fable 5
what does it cost on your plan?
Yes, it still works — but the question is now which route you are on. As of 2026-10-20, Claude Fable 5 is marked Legacy on Anthropic's model page, which recommends Claude Fable 5.1, released 2026-09-01; the API and consumption-based Enterprise sit outside the subscription tiering, and 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 — QCode resumed serving it 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. As of 2026-10-20, Anthropic's model page marks Claude Fable 5 as Legacy and recommends Fable 5.1, released 2026-09-01. The Help Center, checked 2026-11-06, says Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 are available on all paid plans (Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise). On QCode, claude-fable-5 and claude-fable-5-1 are both callable through /models — billing is per token, and each model's price is listed on /models.
Updated October 20, 2026 — we refresh this page as the situation changes.
What do Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 cost on your plan?
Anthropic's help center, updated September 2, 2026: Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 are available on all paid plans (Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise) — tiering since July 19, 2026, not removal.
On Max and Ultra plans, Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 are both a standard part of the plan: you can use up to 50% of your weekly usage limits on Fable models at no extra cost.
Premium seats are treated like Max and Ultra: Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 are part of what the seat includes, up to 50% of your weekly usage limits at no extra cost.
On Pro plans, Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 are available, but they run on pay-as-you-go usage credits from the start rather than being covered by the plan's allowance.
Same treatment as Pro: Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 are available, but they draw on usage credits.
The matrix above describes rules for Anthropic's own subscription plans. The API and consumption-based Enterprise 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
API 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.
QCode resumes serving Fable 5
Fable 5 is back on QCode. 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, Ultra 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. The earlier promotion that included Fable 5 in the weekly usage limits of Pro plans and standard Team seats ended on July 19, 2026; it applied to Fable 5 only, and Fable 5.1 was never part of it.
Entries marked API availability are about whether the model can be called via QCode. Entries marked subscription rules are about commercial arrangements on Anthropic's own plans. The two are not the same thing.
Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 specs & official price (as of 2026-10-20)
The numbers you are running against today.
$10 input / $50 output (official price) — 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. Anthropic now marks Fable 5 as Legacy and suggests moving to Fable 5.1.
Specs and official prices as of October 20, 2026: Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 both run 1M context / 128K output at an official $10 / $50 per million tokens; cache reads are $0.25 per million tokens on Fable 5.1 and $1 on Fable 5. Retirement: Fable 5 not sooner than June 9, 2027, Fable 5.1 not sooner than September 1, 2027. 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 and Fable 5.1 now draw on usage credits. Glance at the balance before starting heavy work so a long task does not stop halfway. Pro and Max have a 5-hour session limit and a weekly limit, while Ultra has a weekly limit and verified Ultra accounts have no 5-hour session limit; Max and Ultra also have a separate weekly limit for Fable (up to 50% of the weekly limit, drawn from the same allowance). These limits are shared across Claude and Claude Code, and the session limit on Max resets every 5 hours.
3. Want predictable rules? Use the API
The API side was never pulled into this. Fable 5 (official price $10 / $50 per million tokens) is still the flagship tier above Opus, worth it for your hardest coding, judgment and long-horizon agentic work; Opus 4.8 (official price $5 / $25) remains the value pick and Sonnet 5 is the budget mid-tier. One key covers all three, and switching models is just a different model id. Want to try a new model for a few days without a monthly plan? Pay-as-you-go Packs start at $4 for a one-time quota you use within 7 days. If you already have a Personal Plan and need more, buy a booster pack.
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, but it is a Legacy model now. Calling claude-fable-5 through the API — including on QCode — works today (the June export-control suspension ended on QCode on July 15); Fable 5.1, released 2026-09-01, is the successor Anthropic recommends, and both Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 are available on all paid plans (Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise). On Anthropic's own subscription plans it has been tiered by plan since July 19, 2026: standard in the plan on Max, on Ultra 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 and Ultra plans (Max $100/month, Ultra $200/month), and on premium seats in Team and Enterprise, Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 are a standard part of the plan: you can use up to 50% of your weekly usage limits on Fable models at no extra cost, drawn from the same weekly allowance (Help Center, Claude Fable models on your plan, checked 2026-11-06). On 2026-10-30 Anthropic renamed Max 5x to Max and Max 20x to Ultra; prices did not change. Pro plans and standard Team seats can still use both models, but both draw on usage credits rather than the plan's allowance. The API and consumption-based Enterprise are not covered by this tiering at all. In Claude Code, Fable 5 requires version 2.1.170 or later and Fable 5.1 requires version 2.1.255 or later.
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 never entered this subscription tiering. On QCode your key, quota and billing are unchanged by what happened on Anthropic's subscription side. On the official side, the platforms for Fable 5.1 are the Claude API, Amazon Bedrock, Claude Platform on AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Foundry.
How much does Fable 5 cost now, and how does it differ from Fable 5.1?
Same official price: Fable 5 and Fable 5.1 are both $10 input and $50 output per million tokens. The difference is cache reads — $0.25 on Fable 5.1 (0.025x the base input price; other models are 0.1x) versus $1 on Fable 5. Fable 5 shipped on June 9, 2026 and is now marked Legacy, with Anthropic recommending a move to Fable 5.1, released September 1, 2026.
One key, three tiers, rules that do not shift with subscription policy
Run Fable 5, Fable 5.1 and Opus 4.8 side by side on QCode — one balance, one API. Personal Plans from $9/mo give a daily quota valid for 30 days; want to try a new model for a few days without a monthly plan? Pay-as-you-go Packs start at $4 for a one-time quota you use within 7 days. If you already have a Personal Plan and need more, buy a booster pack.
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.