Anthropic and OpenAI Announce More Powerful (and Cheaper) AI Models
Anthropic released Claude Opus 5.5 and OpenAI added GPT-6 Sol and Luna within hours of each other on 22 September 2026, both cutting prices hard. OpenAI confirmed its new rates are permanent list prices rather than promotions. This article prices the same job on all three models, unpacks why the Anthropic 40 per cent claim is only 20 per cent on the price list, sets out where Opus 5.5 leads on benchmarks and where GPT-6 Astra still beats it, and asks how a price war squares with the industry slowdown both labs chief executives called for two weeks earlier.
