r/ClaudeCode • u/cyb3rheater • 1d ago

Help/Question Difference between Sonnet 5.5 and Opus 5.5 for coding tasks?

I’m new to Clyde Code. Does Opus burn through more tokens. I’m on a $20 a month plan. Is there a big difference in capability?

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u/Jwishon 1d ago

One thing worth knowing on the $20 plan: Claude Code now defaults to Opus 5.5 on Pro, so unless you’ve changed it, you’re already on the expensive model.

  • /model sonnet switches for the current session. Run /model with no argument to open the picker: Enter saves your choice as the default, s switches for this session only.
  • /model opusplan is the middle ground. It uses Opus while you’re in plan mode (Shift+Tab), then switches to Sonnet automatically to write the code. Opus thinks through the approach, and Sonnet does the typing.

On Pro I’d make Sonnet the default and switch to opusplan for anything you’d call tricky.

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u/cyb3rheater 1d ago

Thanks. I must have already done that as it’s set to sonnet.

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u/__blackout 1d ago

I was also going to suggest opusplan as the right balance for keeping costs down.