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Mastering Claude

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Choosing your model and your tool6 minApplication

Low, medium, high, xhigh, max: choosing your effort level

The effort level sets how much Claude works before answering: the higher it goes, the more thorough, slow and plan-hungry the answer, and the right starting point is the level the menu marks Default.

The effort level sets the amount of work Claude puts in before answering you. Think of proofreading: a quick glance spots the obvious mistakes in a minute, a line-by-line reread checks every figure and takes an hour. Anthropic's help page describes the same trade: higher effort gives more thorough answers, but they take longer to arrive and you reach your plan's usage limits faster.

Five levels, from lightest to most thorough

The menu offers Low, Medium, High, Extra high (xhigh) and Max. Low and Medium suit everyday tasks and make your plan last. High offers the best balance between quality and speed. Extra high targets long coding tasks, and those where Claude chains many steps on its own without handing control back to you in between. Max is the most thorough and most consuming level, for problems that call for the deepest reasoning. Extra high only appears on Opus 4.7 and newer models, and on an Enterprise account, an administrator may have removed certain levels from the menu.

Where to set it, and where to start

The rule fits in one sentence: start from the level marked Default, go up one notch if the answer seems superficial, go down one notch if it drags on a simple question.

The path described by the help page takes three clicks:

Model name (next to the send button), then "Effort", then the level you want

The change takes effect from the next answer, at any point in the conversation. In this menu, one of the levels carries the Default label: it is the one Anthropic recommends for the chosen model, and it changes from one model to another.

Effort and thinking, two separate settings

The same menu carries a Thinking switch. It gives Claude more time to break the problem down, plan and try several leads before answering, and this work appears in a collapsible section above the answer, with a timer. Effort, for its part, sets how carefully each answer is produced. The two combine freely. On Claude Opus 5.5, thinking cannot be switched off: it stays active at every effort level.

Comparing two levels without fooling yourself

The temptation is to ask a question at High, then at Max, and attribute the whole difference to the setting. But the same question asked twice at the same level already gives two different answers, in wording, length and sometimes duration: this lesson's exercise lets you see that for yourself. A single trial per level therefore does not separate the effect of the setting from this ordinary variation. Ask the question twice at each level, and only keep an effect if the gap between levels clearly exceeds the gap between two trials at the same level.

Watch the right gauge too. Effort mostly sets the amount of reasoning, which the timer in the Thinking section makes visible. The length of the final text tells you less: the developer documentation states that on Opus 5, changing the effort does not reliably shorten the displayed answer. Choosing a model according to the task rather than by habit rests on the same reflex, and the lesson on moving to Claude Opus 5.5 details effort from the developer side.

Figure 1

The five levels of the Effort menu

Level shownFor what useWhat it costs
LowA simple, everyday task, such as rewording a short text.The most economical, with slightly reduced capability according to the developer documentation.
MediumAn everyday task that deserves a little more care.Economical, it makes the plan last.
HighThe best balance between quality and speed.Slower and more consuming than Low and Medium.
Extra high (xhigh)A long coding task, or a task where Claude chains many steps on its own. Opus 4.7 and newer models.Deeper reasoning than High, without the full cost of Max.
MaxA hard problem that calls for the deepest reasoning.The slowest and most consuming, within the limits of your plan.
Each row gives the label shown in the menu, the use the help page associates with it and what it costs in waiting time and plan usage.
Calibrate it yourself

A person sets the effort to High and asks Claude for a follow-up letter to a supplier. The timer in the Thinking section shows 9 seconds, then Claude answers in one paragraph. She opens a new conversation, sets the effort to Max and sends the same request. The timer shows 41 seconds, then Claude answers in three paragraphs. She sent the request once at each level.

Write in one sentence what this situation establishes, and in one sentence what it does not establish.

What to remember
  • Higher effort makes Claude work more before answering, at the price of a longer wait and a plan that runs out faster.
  • The Default label in the menu marks the recommended starting point for the current model, and that starting point varies by model.
  • Thinking is a separate switch that gives Claude time to break the problem down, and it cannot be turned off on Opus 5.5.
  • A single answer per level does not let you attribute a gap to the setting, because a question asked again at the same level already changes its answer.
  • The timer in the Thinking section measures effort better than the length of the text returned.
Do this now

Pick a question from your everyday work. Leave the effort on the level marked Default, switch on the Thinking switch if it is off, and ask the question twice, in two new conversations, noting each time the duration shown by the timer in the Thinking section. Then set Max and ask it twice more in the same way. Compare the gap between your two trials at the same level with the gap between the two levels, then write in one sentence what these four trials let you conclude.

Check the source

Every datable claim in this lesson links here to the public text behind it. A source that does not open proves nothing.