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Anthropic · REASONING EFFORT GUIDE

Claude Fable 5
How much thinking?

Compare Low vs Medium vs High vs Max where tested. Find the effort setting that fits your task, and see how much extra reasoning changes the result.

SAME MODEL. DIFFERENT THINKING.

Choose a thinking level for Claude Fable 5

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Hex DataBench v1.1

Published blended DataBench score, on a 0–100 scale. Judge-based analytical task performance; not a general intelligence or guaranteed success rate.

Analytics in the Hex agent harness · Leaderboard updated: 2026-09-22 · Reviewed 2026-10-15Check the source ↗
SUGGESTED SETTING TO TESTMax

Lowest measured cost within 1.0 points of the best tested analytics score.

18.0 / 100 · $3.49 / source task
Exact best1.0 pts10 pts

Set 0 for the highest score. Increase the gap to explore cheaper or lighter options.

THE EFFORT CURVE

Does more thinking help?

● Near-best pickOrange = score decreased

025507510015.0Low14.7Medium16.0High18.0Max
025507510015.0Low14.7Medium16.0High18.0Max

Scores out of 100 · Full 0–100 scale · tap a point to select mode B. Cyan band: within 1.0 points of the best tested score.

WHAT YOU SPEND

Cost of more effort

Measured average USD per benchmark task.

Low$1.14
Medium$1.5
High$1.88
MaxNear-best pick$3.49

Measured in this study with its particular tools and setup. Your task mix, tools, caching and endpoint can change the result.

Score difference · B minus A+3.0 pts

Noticeable gap · B scored higher

Measured cost · B / A3.07×

Same benchmark workload

Median duration · B / A4.76×

Measured with the study’s testing setup

We describe gaps under 1 point as small, 1–under 5 as noticeable, and 5 or more as large. These are reading aids, not proof that a difference would hold up in repeated tests. Equal scores can still hide different mistakes.

WHERE MORE SCORED LOWER

When more thinking scored lower

Low → Medium-0.3 pts15.0 → 14.7 on analytics score

These drops can reflect the tasks, variation between runs, testing tools or errors. A lower score alone does not prove the model was “overthinking.”
EVERY TESTED MODE

Results for each tested setting

4 modes · untested settings are left blank

Low

Tested setting
15.0 / 100

0.0 pts vs Low

$1.14 / source task

80 s median duration

Medium

A better tradeoff is available
14.7 / 100

-0.3 pts vs Low

$1.5 / source task

125 s median duration

High

Tested setting
16.0 / 100

+1.0 pts vs Low

$1.88 / source task

157 s median duration

Max

Suggested setting
18.0 / 100

+3.0 pts vs Low

$3.49 / source task

380 s median duration

Full benchmark table & exact configuration IDs

Swipe inside the table for all measures. Figures from different study selections are not directly comparable.

Claude Fable 5 · Hex DataBench v1.1 · Analytics in the Hex agent harness
EffortAnalytics scoreCost / taskMedian secondsOutput tokensExact source ID
Low15.0$1.1479.8—Fable 5 · Low
Medium14.7$1.5125.0—Fable 5 · Medium
High16.0$1.88156.7—Fable 5 · High
Max18.0$3.49380.0—Fable 5 · Max
SCALE THE OBSERVED COST

Effort cost difference calculator

What would A versus B cost if you repeated this benchmark’s average workload?

A · Low$1,136.59
B · Max$3,486.33
Difference$2,349.75more with B

A source-workload scenario using average measured USD costs. Source prices, caching and tools are already reflected in those observed costs. Your agent’s costs may differ.

YOUR WORKLOAD

Reasoning-token cost calculator

Estimate the extra bill from thinking tokens. The starting token counts are editable examples, not measurements of Claude Fable 5. Rates start from the current model snapshot.

A · Low$200estimated monthly cost
B · Max$400estimated monthly cost

Mode B costs $200 more per month with these assumptions.

This estimate uses the token counts and prices you enter. Excludes retries, tools, caching, long-context premiums, hosting and taxes. Includes thinking in output billing; do not also include it in “visible output.” Check endpoint limits separately. Changing mode does not automatically predict tokens or quality.

READ ACROSS THE EVIDENCE

Claude Fable 5 effort benchmarks at a glance

Each card compares settings tested together in one study. Scores from different benchmarks or question sets measure different work and are not averaged together.

Leaderboard updated · 2026-09-22

Analytics · DataBench v1.1

Published blended DataBench score, on a 0–100 scale. Judge-based analytical task performance; not a general intelligence or guaranteed success rate.

Low
15.0 · $1.14 / task
Medium
14.7 · $1.5 / task
High
16.0 · $1.88 / task
Max · pick
18.0 · $3.49 / task

Near-best pick: Max within 1 point of the best score. Highest-to-lowest score gap: 3.3 points.

Explore this study ↗

Original source ↗

All results and the exact settings tested

A dash means the study did not report that result. This table compares only the versions and settings tested on the same questions in this study.

Claude Fable 5 · Analytics · DataBench v1.1 · Analytics in the Hex agent harness
Effort / budgetAnalytics scoreMeasured USD / taskMedian seconds / taskExact source configuration
Low15.0$1.1479.8Fable 5 · Low
Medium14.7$1.5125.0Fable 5 · Medium
High16.0$1.88156.7Fable 5 · High
Max18.0$3.49380.0Fable 5 · Max

Download this study’s data (CSV) ↓

Reasoning effort, explained

Which Claude Fable 5 thinking level is most efficient?

Max is the lowest-cost option within 1 point of the best analytics score in Hex DataBench v1.1. The tested score range is 3.3 points. This allows a score up to 1 point below the best result in the first listed study. Change the study, task and allowed score gap above to explore another comparison. It is a shortlist for testing your own workload.

Which Claude Fable 5 effort settings are compared?

Low, Medium, High, Max appear in the collected studies. Each chart only includes modes tested together in that study. These published labels do not establish that every endpoint or application exposes every setting.

Does more effort improve Claude Fable 5?

In Hex DataBench v1.1, Low to Medium lowers the observed score by 0.3 points. The overall tested range is 3.3 points. These are observed differences, not proof that extra thinking caused the decline.

How much more does high effort cost for Claude Fable 5?

Use the A/B selector and measured-cost calculator when the source reports dollar costs. For your own agent, enter average input, visible output and thinking tokens in the token calculator. Higher effort is adaptive, so the label itself cannot tell you the bill. Missing costs stay missing.

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AI Agent Store · Model comparisons · Data reviewed 2026-10-15Sources, limitations & corrections ↗