Claude Code Sends 33k Tokens Before Reading Your Prompt; OpenCode Sends 7k

Claude Code sends 33k tokens before reading the prompt; OpenCode sends 7k

I measured the hidden token costs of Claude Code versus OpenCode, discovering that Claude Code sends roughly 33,000 tokens of system scaffolding before your prompt even arrives, compared to OpenCode's 7,000. While Claude Code rewrites cache tokens aggressively, increasing costs, its ability to batch tool calls can sometimes make it cheaper for complex tasks. However, for simple interactions, the massive baseline overhead of Claude Code significantly inflates your bill and consumes context budget.

"By the time a real working setup sends its first request, it is 75,000 to 85,000 tokens deep before the user has typed a word."