Model Scorecard
Claude Opus 5.5 (xhigh)
Anthropic · proprietary
Claude Opus 5.5 ranks #1 of 87 models on the November 2026 ToneBench board, and Claude Opus 5.5 (xhigh) is its best configuration, #1 of 151 configurations, with a Writing Score of 85.8/100 and a Writing Elo of 2704. One script costs $1.00 at API list price.
Last updated , from board data generated at 17:52 UTC.
Rank, scores, the nine metrics, the 10 reference scripts, cost and setup for one configuration (a model at one reasoning setting). Key Results sums it up; the section links below it jump to the detail.
Key Results
- StandingClaude Opus 5.5 ranks #1 of 87 models, and this is its best configuration. As a configuration, it is #1 of 151 configurations by Writing Elo (2704). Its 95% range (2648 to 2750) overlaps 3 other configurations, ranked #2 to #4.
- MetricsBest-ranked: Writing Craft & Clarity (83.2, 1st of 151 configurations, +8.1 against the board median). Lowest-ranked: Hook Strength (82.9, 16th of 151 configurations, +3.3 against the board median).
- ScriptsFrom 84.3 on Script 10 (engineering process walkthrough) to 87.9 on Scripts 7 and 9 (personal technical walkthrough and career guide): a 3.6-point spread across the 10 reference scripts.
- ConsistencyIts Writing Score moves ± 1.4 between drafts of the same script, against ± 2.5 for the median configuration: steadier than most.
- ValueNothing on the board ranks higher at any price. It costs $1.00 per script. The strongest option at least 15% cheaper is Claude Opus 5.5 (high), configuration #8, 233 Elo behind, at $0.328 per script.
- Judge SeatDisclosure: the Claude Opus 5.5 line also holds one of the four judge seats. The other three judges come from other labs, so no lab scores itself alone (how the panel works).
Louis's PickWhen the writing matters most, this is the one I'd use.
More Context Behind These Results
Writing Elo comes from comparing its average on each script with every other configuration's average on that same script; a gap smaller than the draft-to-draft variation counts as a draw (what the ranges can and cannot show).
It is first on the board on 2 of the 9 metrics. On Writing Craft & Clarity, its best-ranked metric, its sentences need less smoothing than the typical configuration's. Even its lowest-ranked metric, Hook Strength, ranks in the top half of the board, so no metric stands out as a weak spot.
The script format moves its score. If most of your scripts look like its best or weakest format, that result is a better guide than the average.
Its drafts vary little, so the first draft is usually close to the next one.
It outranks 6 configurations that cost at least 50% more.
It ranks highest of the 34 Anthropic configurations on the board, though its Elo range overlaps that of Claude Opus 5.5 (max effort).
Among proprietary models, Claude Opus 5.5 is 1st of 53. As a configuration, it is 1st of 108 proprietary configurations. It also sits above every open-weight configuration; the best of them, GLM-5.3 (max), is configuration #22.
All Settings of Claude Opus 5.5
Claude Opus 5.5 is also on the board at other effort settings, and none of them rank above this one. The thinking-level page for Claude Opus 5.5 charts how quality, cost and time change with the setting.
| Setting | Configuration Rank | Writing Score | Writing Elo | Cost / Script | Time / Script |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xhigh this page | #1 | 85.8 | 2704 | $1.00 | 6.7 min |
| max effort | #2 | 85.9 | 2699 | $2.58 | 17.5 min |
| high | #8 | 84.6 | 2471 | $0.328 | 2.1 min |
| medium | #9 | 84.5 | 2452 | $0.310 | 1.9 min |
| low | #10 | 84.3 | 2425 | $0.243 | 1.5 min |
Skill Profile Across the Nine Metrics
Each corner is one metric on a 0 to 100 scale; the further out, the higher the score. A corner outside the dashed line beats the board median. Hover or tap a point for its exact score, and a metric name for what it rewards.
Scores by Metric
Nine metrics, each scored 0 to 100 and weighted into the Writing Score; the weight sits under each name. Rank is out of all 151 ranked configurations.
Scores by Reference Script
Every ranked configuration writes five drafts for each of the same 10 briefs, and each score is the mean of those drafts. The rank and board median compare it with every configuration on that script, which separates a weak result from a hard script. The result on the format closest to your own work is the most relevant.
Consistency Between Drafts
Every score on this page is the mean of 5 drafts per script. The ± is the standard deviation between those drafts: the larger it is, the more two drafts of the same script can differ.
Compared with the typical model, it's steadiest on Length Adherence: ± 0.8 between drafts against ± 6.6.
Consistency by Metric
| Metric | This model | Board median | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tone & Voice Match ? | 82.5 ± 1.3 | ± 1.9 | typical |
| Writing Craft & Clarity ? | 83.2 ± 0.8 | ± 1.5 | steadier than most |
| Substance, Accuracy & Value ? | 88.4 ± 0.8 | ± 2.1 | steadier than most |
| Continuity & Emotion ? | 85.4 ± 0.9 | ± 1.5 | steadier than most |
| YouTube Best Practices ? | 84.4 ± 1.4 | ± 2.4 | steadier than most |
| Hook Strength ? | 82.9 ± 2.7 | ± 2.7 | typical |
| Length Adherence ? | 98.6 ± 0.8 | ± 6.6 | steadier than most |
| Slop Score ? | 88.5 ± 0.9 | ± 1.6 | steadier than most |
| Visual Cue Quality ? | 84.9 ± 1.1 | ± 2.9 | steadier than most |
Cost, Time and Tokens per Script
Logged on every run; none of these figures affects the Writing Score. Time is the average time to one accepted script, retries included. Cost is one script at the API list price.
Scores by Judge
Four judges score the same 50 stored drafts blind against the same rubric: three LLM judges from three labs, plus Jev, a typed judge from TypeSafe that rates each metric on five described quality levels. No single judge's taste decides the result. The Writing Score of 85.8 combines their scores with the parts computed in code (Length Adherence and half of the Slop Score). The highest and lowest judge are 8.9 points apart on its Writing Score. That is tighter than the board median of 13.4, so the judges mostly agree on this one. Each judge also has its own scale, so every card shows that judge's score against its average across the board. How the panel works.
Evaluation Setup
How this exact configuration was run and judged: route, model ID, dates, sampling and prompt.
- Accessed viaClaude Code (Anthropic subscription).
- Exact model / route id
claude-opus-5-5atreasoning level: xhigh. - Generations5 independent runs × 10 scripts = 50 drafts, stored after generation and never edited.
- Run dates2026-10-08 to 2026-10-11.
- JudgesClaude Opus 5.5 at medium effort through the Claude Code subscription, GPT-6.1 Sol at medium reasoning through the Codex CLI, GLM 5.3 Flash through OpenRouter, and Jev 1.13 from TypeSafe. One call per judge per draft. All four score every draft on their own, blind to which model wrote it. The three LLM judges use the identical rubric and have to quote evidence before they score a metric. Jev answers the same rubric as one question per metric, choosing among five described quality levels, and writes no text. Seven metrics are the plain average of the four judges. Length is computed from the spoken word count, and Slop is half computed (lexical scans minus the spoken-dash penalty) and half judged. The Writing Elo is cross-checked with a Bradley-Terry fit of the same pairwise results (methodology).
- Sampling and promptThe provider's default sampling, with no fine-tuning and no system-prompt changes. Every current-ranked model gets the same prompt, about 13,000 tokens (the count shifts a bit with each model's tokenizer): a style guide built from Louis's voice and storytelling guides, the target length, and the brief with its research packet. Generation is closed-book on every route: the prompt is the only source, with no web search, browsing, code execution, file access or other tool (generation).
- What stays privateThe exact rubric and any non-public reference material. Each script is normally benchmarked before its video is published, which lowers the odds that a model has seen the reference, though it does not rule it out (why).
Frequently Asked Questions
How Good Is Claude Opus 5.5 (xhigh) at Writing?
Claude Opus 5.5 ranks #1 of 87 models on ToneBench, and this is its best configuration. This configuration is #1 of 151 configurations, with a Writing Elo of 2704 and a Writing Score of 85.8/100. The ranks come from full YouTube scripts written in the voice of Louis-François Bouchard and judged blind, with the channel's finished script as the reference. The benchmark measures long-form scripted writing, so the result does not carry over to every kind of text.
Is Claude Opus 5.5 (xhigh) the Best Anthropic Model for Writing?
Yes. Of the 34 Anthropic configurations on the board, Claude Opus 5.5 (xhigh) ranks highest by Writing Elo, which makes Claude Opus 5.5 the top Anthropic model, #1 of 87 models. Its Elo range overlaps that of Claude Opus 5.5 (max effort).
Is Claude Opus 5.5 (xhigh) Good Value for the Money?
It costs about $1.00 per script. No model on the board ranks higher at any price, so the question is whether its place over the cheaper configurations is worth the difference.
What Are the Strengths and Weaknesses of Claude Opus 5.5 (xhigh)?
Its best-ranked metric is Writing Craft & Clarity (83.2, 1st of 151 configurations, +8.1 against the board median), and its lowest-ranked is Hook Strength (82.9, 16th of 151, +3.3). Even that one ranks in the top half of the board. The Scores by Metric section shows the board median and the board's best for each one.
How Was Claude Opus 5.5 (xhigh) Evaluated?
It was run through Claude Code (Anthropic subscription), with the exact model/route ID claude-opus-5-5 at reasoning effort xhigh, first run on 2026-10-08. It wrote each script 5 times with the provider's default sampling and no fine-tuning. The Evaluation Setup section and the methodology page have the details.
Does Claude Opus 5.5 (xhigh) Have Open Weights?
No. It is a proprietary model: its weights are not public. Among proprietary configurations it is 1st of 108 for writing.