Answer four questions below — every model in our directory re-ranks live to match your exact workload.
Anthropic's budget model, now with adjustable reasoning, at $0.10/$0.50.
If mistakes are expensive
OpenAI · $10/M · 1.05M ctx
The strongest all-around answer. Pick this when you're on a deadline and need it right the first time.
If every token counts
Mistral · $0.1/M · 128K ctx
The best low-cost default. Holds up in real use — not just on benchmarks designed to flatter cheap models.
If you live in long documents
OpenAI · $10/M · 1.05M ctx
A million-token window and careful synthesis. The right pick for research, transcripts, and giant PDFs.
CODING
Strongest picks for shipping code with fewer broken edits.
WRITING
Models that stay clear, polished, and on-brand across long drafts.
RESEARCH
Right picks for synthesis, document review, and deep analysis.
VISION
Multimodal picks for visual workflows and prompt iteration.
BUDGET
Value-first picks for startups and prompt-heavy workflows.
LONG-CTX
Best choices for giant docs, transcripts, and knowledge-heavy work.
FREE
Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Llama 4 all have usable free tiers. See which one to pick for your workflow.
CHEAP API
From $0.029/1M tokens. DeepSeek and Gemini Flash lead value per token for production workloads.
$20/MO
Both cost exactly $20/mo. Coding, writing, research — the verdict changes by task. Which plan is right for you?
The coding leader at $4/$20 against OpenAI's near-Astra value pick at $2/$10.
Half the price and ahead on Terminal-Bench 4.0 — when the cheaper Claude is the better buy.
One point apart on independent testing, five times apart on price.
The new SWE-bench Pro leader against Anthropic's $10/$50 frontier model.
The two $0.10/$0.50 budget models, compared on scores and long-prompt surcharges.
The clearest side-by-side for the three families most people decide between.
Which $20/mo plan is actually worth it. Coding, writing, research, agentic.
Writing and coding quality against Workspace integration. The verdict by use case.
Same price, Google-reported coding gains — and a verbosity cost to watch.
When the consumer plan beats raw API access — and when it doesn't.
Ranked view of the best current models by overall usefulness, not benchmark theater.
Fastest way to see which APIs are actually worth paying for in 2026.
OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Terra Pro (batch) (OpenAI) is now available, superseding GPT-4.1. Input: $0.50/1M · Output: $2.50/1M.
Meta: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct (Meta) is now available, superseding Llama 3.1 8B Instruct. Input: $0.10/1M · Output: $0.32/1M.
Meta: Llama 3.2 3B Instruct (Meta) is now available, superseding Llama 3.1 8B Instruct. Input: $0.05/1M · Output: $0.33/1M.
Mistral Large 4 output pricing changed from $4.18/1M to $2.10/1M (↓ cheaper, 50% cut).
07 / 07 · DECISION ENGINE
Answer 5 questions — budget, task, workflow, and context — and we rank every model in real time. No signup. No fluff.
Best for coding?
GPT-6 Astra
Best budget pick?
Mistral Small 3.1
Best for writing?
Claude Sonnet 5
Most context?
GPT-6 Astra
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