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Claude 4 Is Retiring June 15

Claude 4 Opus and Sonnet 4 will stop working. Here are 34 alternatives — with exact cost comparisons so you can pick the cheapest replacement.

Alternatives Compared

97%

Max Savings vs Claude 4

API Providers

< 1hr

Migration Time

What's Being Retired

Claude 4 Opus

$15 / $75 per 1M tokens · 200K context

RETIRES JUNE 15

→ Claude Opus 4.8 ($5/$25)

Claude Sonnet 4

$3 / $15 per 1M tokens · 200K context

RETIRES JUNE 15

→ Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($3/$15)

After June 15, API calls to these models will return errors. Your API key still works — only the model name changes.

How Much Will You Save?

Enter your monthly usage to see exact savings across all alternatives.

Input Tokens / Month (millions)

Output Tokens / Month (millions)

Claude 4 Opus (current) $300/mo

Claude Opus 4.8 (Anthropic replacement) $100/mo

Claude Sonnet 4.6 (if using Sonnet 4) $60/mo

Best deal: DeepSeek V4 Pro $6.09/mo

You save (vs Claude 4 Opus) $293.91/mo

Open full deprecation calculator →

Top Alternatives — Sorted by Cost

Click column headers to sort. All prices per 1M tokens.

					Context

Open full migration tool with code snippets →

Migrate in 30 Seconds

One line change. Your API key, SDK, and endpoint stay the same.

import anthropic

client = anthropic.Anthropic()

# Before (retires June 15):
response = client.messages.create(
    model="claude-4-opus",
    max_tokens=1024,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]
)

# After (save 67%):
response = client.messages.create(
    model="claude-opus-4-8",
    max_tokens=1024,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]
)
        

import Anthropic from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';

const client = new Anthropic();

// Before (retires June 15):
const response = await client.messages.create({
  model: 'claude-4-opus',
  max_tokens: 1024,
  messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Hello' }]
});

// After (save 67%):
const response = await client.messages.create({
  model: 'claude-opus-4-8',
  max_tokens: 1024,
  messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Hello' }]
});
        

# Before (retires June 15):
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
  -H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "claude-4-opus", "max_tokens": 1024, ...}'

# After (save 67%):
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
  -H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "claude-opus-4-8", "max_tokens": 1024, ...}'
        

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Frequently Asked Questions

When is Claude 4 being deprecated?

Claude 4 Opus and Claude Sonnet 4 are both being retired on June 15, 2026. After this date, API calls to these model IDs will return errors. You must migrate to a replacement model before then.

What is the cheapest alternative to Claude 4 Opus?

DeepSeek V4 Flash is the cheapest at $0.14/$0.28 per million tokens — 99% cheaper than Claude 4 Opus ($15/$75). For a similar quality level, DeepSeek V4 Pro at $0.435/$0.87 is 97% cheaper. The direct Anthropic replacement, Claude Opus 4.8, is 67% cheaper at $5/$25.

Do I need a new API key to migrate from Claude 4?

No. If you're staying with Anthropic, your existing API key works with Claude Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 4.6. Only the model name string in your code changes. If switching providers, you'll need a new API key from the new provider.

How much can I save by switching from Claude 4?

Savings range from 67% (Claude Opus 4.8) to 99% (DeepSeek V4 Flash). For a typical workload of 10M input + 2M output tokens/month, Claude 4 Opus costs $300/month. The same workload on Claude Opus 4.8 costs $100/month, and on DeepSeek V4 Pro it costs just $6.09/month.

Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 a direct replacement for Claude Sonnet 4?

Yes. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the same price ($3/$15 per million tokens) but has 5x the context window (1M vs 200K tokens) and improved reasoning. It's a strict upgrade with no cost increase.

Will my existing code break on June 15?

Yes — any API calls using "claude-4-opus" or "claude-sonnet-4" as the model name will return errors after June 15. You need to update the model string in your code before the deadline. The rest of your integration (API key, SDK, endpoint) stays the same.

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Claude 4 Is Retiring June 15

What's Being Retired

How Much Will You Save?

Top Alternatives — Sorted by Cost

Migrate in 30 Seconds

Save Even More with APIpulse Pro

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Claude 4 being deprecated?

What is the cheapest alternative to Claude 4 Opus?

Do I need a new API key to migrate from Claude 4?

How much can I save by switching from Claude 4?

Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 a direct replacement for Claude Sonnet 4?

Will my existing code break on June 15?

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Get the Claude 4 Migration Checklist