Skip to content
BackstageBuilds
Menu
[Setup]

Which Claude model do I use?

· 3 Min Read · By Riley Daniels

Short version: the one that’s already selected. Claude picks a sensible default, and for most of what you do it is the right call. You can stop reading here and be fine.

Still with me? Okay. The model menu looks scarier than it is. There are a few, they are named like a law firm (Haiku, Sonnet, Opus, Fable), and you almost never need to think about them. But when you do, here is what each one is actually for, in creator terms.

The daily driver: Sonnet

This is the one I reach for most. Fast, smart enough for almost everything, and it does not make you wait. Anthropic calls it “the best combination of speed and intelligence,” which for once is marketing that is just true.

Use it for:

  • Quick questions and quick drafts.
  • Looking at your numbers. Paste last month from a few platforms and ask what actually sold, what flopped, what to post more of. Sonnet is genuinely good at this.
  • Captions, a weekly plan, a “what did I even post this month” recap.

If you are on the free plan, Sonnet is the smart one you get. That is not a downgrade. It covers most of the job.

The writer: Opus

When the words matter, I switch to Opus. Longer posts, an email to your list, a bio, anything that has to sound like me and not like a form letter. In my experience it holds my voice better and wanders off less.

Use it for:

  • Writing you actually care about.
  • Anything long or layered where you want it to stay on track.
  • The piece you would be a little embarrassed to post in a rush.

Opus is on the paid plans (Pro and up). And if the goal is for it to sound like you, that starts with a voice file, not a model. The free one-pager shows you how to build one in about ten minutes.

The quick one: Haiku

Haiku is the fastest and cheapest. Near-instant, light on the deep thinking.

Use it for:

  • Small, fast, boring jobs. Reformat this list. Turn this voice note into bullet points. Clean up this text.
  • Anything you are doing a lot of and want done now.

You will not reach for it often as a creator, but it is nice to know it is there.

The heavy one: Fable

Fable is the top tier, built for heavy reasoning and long, complicated technical work. Slowest, priciest.

For a creator, it is almost certainly more than you need. If you are not sure whether you need it, you do not. Skip it and keep your credits.

So, which one?

  • Leave it on the default. Really.
  • Switch to Opus when the writing matters.
  • Drop to Haiku for fast little jobs.
  • Ignore Fable unless you are doing something genuinely heavy.

That is the whole decision. Do not let a dropdown menu become a project.

This one is about the models. If you are still sorting out Projects versus Cowork versus the app itself, that is a different question, and I wrote it up here: Which Claude do I use?.

Tools, not tricks. Pick one and go make something.

Last checked: 3 October 2026. Models and plans change fast, so I will keep this updated.

More posts