Claude Code Is Way More Token-Hungry Than OpenCode. We Measured Exactly How Much
- We put Claude Code and OpenCode on the same model, the same machine, and the same tasks, then examined everything sent and received.
- Claude Code is far hungrier:When we asked both harnesses for a one-line reply, Claude Code used roughly 33,000 tokens of system prompt, tool schemas, and injected scaffolding before the prompt even arrived.
- Claude Code is far more cache inefficient:OpenCode's request prefix was byte-identical in every run we captured; it paid to cache its payload once per session and read it back for pennies.
Unverified
- We put Claude Code and OpenCode on the same model, the same machine, and the same tasks, then examined everything sent and received.
- Claude Code is far hungrier:When we asked both harnesses for a one-line reply, Claude Code used roughly 33,000 tokens of system prompt, tool schemas, and injected scaffolding before the prompt even arrived.
- Claude Code is far more cache inefficient:OpenCode's request prefix was byte-identical in every run we captured; it paid to cache its payload once per session and read it back for pennies.
Sources: Systima