Anthropic API Drops Tiered Pricing for Sonnet 4.6, Goes Flat Rate
What happened
Between the Dec 29, 2025 and Mar 30, 2026 captures of Anthropic's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: Sonnet 4.6 drops the 200K-token tiered pricing used by Sonnet 4.5. Flat $3/$15 MTok replaces tiers of $3/$6 input and $15/$22.50 output. Extended caching tiers ($7.50/$0.60) also removed. Pulse files it as a packaging change (package change) with a neutral direction. Pulse's latest capture (Oct 12, 2026) lists Haiku 4.5 at $5 per MTok output + $1.25 per MTok cache write, Sonnet 5 at $2 per MTok input + $10 per MTok output, Opus 5 at $6.25 per MTok cache write + $0.5 per MTok cache read, Fable 5 at $12.5 per MTok cache write + $1 per MTok cache read and Opus 4.8 at $6.25 per MTok cache write + $5 per MTok input.
It lands 19 days after Anthropic's previous change, "Anthropic API simplifies pricing, removes volume-based tiers" (Mar 16, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "Anthropic API replaces Sonnet 4.5 with 4.6 at same price point" (Feb 18, 2026), "Anthropic API rolls out tiered pricing for Opus 4.6 by context length" (Week 7, 2026) and "Anthropic API unveils Opus 4.6 pricing with new >200K token tiers" (Feb 9, 2026). Anthropic has been tracked since 2024-11-17.
In the same window Microsoft, OpenAI and X also changed their AI & Machine Learning pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Sonnet 4.6, Sonnet 4.5 · PackagingRemoved
Before200K-token tiered pricing used by Sonnet 4.5
AfterNot listed
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonnet 4.6, Sonnet 4.5 | Packaging | 200K-token tiered pricing used by Sonnet 4.5 | Not listed | Removed |
Values as written on Anthropic's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Anthropic's pricing page (anthropic.com) from Dec 29, 2025 and Mar 30, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page, where the 200K-token tiered pricing used by Sonnet 4.5 no longer appears.
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Anthropic, the last 90 days
Full history- Jun 2, 2026packagingAnthropic API launches Opus 4.8 with new fast mode for lightning speeds
- May 13, 2026improvedAnthropic API consolidates Microsoft 365 and Outlook integrations
- Apr 21, 2026packagingAnthropic API launches Managed Agents at $0.08 per session-hour of runtime
- Apr 4, 2026packagingAnthropic API Drops Tiered Pricing for Sonnet 4.6, Goes Flat Rate · this change
- Mar 16, 2026packagingAnthropic API simplifies pricing, removes volume-based tiers
- Feb 18, 2026packagingAnthropic API replaces Sonnet 4.5 with 4.6 at same price point
- Week 7, 2026packagingAnthropic API rolls out tiered pricing for Opus 4.6 by context length
- Feb 9, 2026packagingAnthropic API unveils Opus 4.6 pricing with new >200K token tiers
- Week 2, 2026packagingAnthropic API ends holiday promo, drops 2x usage boost for paid subscribers
- Jan 10, 2026packagingAnthropic API Cuts Flagship Opus Model Prices by 67% in Major Update to Version 4.5, Launching New Pricing Structure
Across AI & Machine Learning in the same window
All AI & Machine Learning changesQuestions about this change
Did Anthropic raise prices in March 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Dec 29, 2025 and Mar 30, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a packaging change: package change.
What changed on Anthropic's pricing page between Dec 29, 2025 and Mar 30, 2026?
Sonnet 4.6, Sonnet 4.5 packaging: 200K-token tiered pricing used by Sonnet 4.5 → Not listed, removed. Pulse compared the captures it took on Dec 29, 2025 and Mar 30, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Anthropic change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 6 other pricing-page changes for Anthropic in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Anthropic API simplifies pricing, removes volume-based tiers" on Mar 16, 2026; Anthropic has been tracked since 2024-11-17.