OpenAI vs Anthropic: Business AI Spending Shifts as Fable 5 Struggles and GPT-5.6 Sol Gains

New spending data from Ramp, which tracks expenses for more than 70,000 U.S. businesses, shows OpenAI is growing faster than Anthropic among enterprise users in the third quarter of 2026, even though Anthropic still holds the larger overall market share.

As of July, 43.5% of Ramp-tracked businesses were paying for Anthropic subscriptions or tokens, ahead of OpenAI's 39.7%. But OpenAI added subscribers at a faster rate during Q3, gaining momentum that Ramp economist Ara Kharazian attributed to the GPT-5.6 Sol model, which he described as "increasingly the choice for developers."

Anthropic's newest model, Fable 5, has struggled to gain traction with business users. It accounted for just 6% of tokens purchased from Anthropic and 11.4% of dollars spent on Anthropic models in July. In the same period, OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol represented 25% of OpenAI tokens and 23% of its spend. Ramp identified two causes: Fable 5's price of roughly $10 per million tokens, about twice the cost of GPT-5.6 Sol, and backlash after Anthropic notified users it is required to retain their data for one month.

Beyond the two leaders, enterprise AI adoption continues to broaden. The share of Ramp-tracked businesses paying for any AI service reached nearly 56% in July, up from just over 50% in March. Open-source and model-serving platforms rose to 6.1% of AI-using businesses, suggesting enterprises are diversifying.

Separate from usage data, the two companies' financial pictures have diverged sharply. Anthropic reported $11.6 billion in Q2 revenue, surpassing OpenAI for the first time, while OpenAI recorded $6.7 billion and an operating loss of $12.3 billion. Anthropic recorded a small adjusted operating profit over the same period.

Key takeaways:

• Anthropic leads in business market share (43.5% vs. OpenAI's 39.7%) among 70,000+ Ramp-tracked firms, but OpenAI is growing faster in Q3
• Fable 5 underperforming: only 6% of Anthropic tokens, held back by price ($10/M tokens vs. $5) and data-retention policy backlash
• GPT-5.6 Sol is driving OpenAI momentum: 25% of its tokens, 23% of spend
• Overall enterprise AI adoption at 56% of Ramp businesses (up from 50% in March)
• Open-source alternatives now represent 6.1% of AI-spending businesses, signaling diversification
• Financial divergence: Anthropic Q2 revenue ($11.6B) exceeded OpenAI ($6.7B); Anthropic near-profitable while OpenAI posted $12.3B operating loss

Read the full article on Quartz