Muse Spark is Meta's best model for long-context work — it scores 90/100 vs 88/100 for Llama 4 Scout, at $1.25/1M input tokens. Across all providers, Claude Fable 5 still leads long-context work at 99/100 — worth considering if you're not committed to Meta.
The shortest way to see the safest default, the lower-cost option, and the specialist pick before you read deeper.
Muse Spark is the safest overall answer here when you want the strongest default instead of the lowest list price.
DeepSeek V4-Flash is the lower-cost option to start with when you still need useful output at scale.
Llama 4 Scout is the better pick when large documents, transcripts, or knowledge-heavy work lead the decision.
Muse Spark leads Meta's lineup for long-context work at 90/100 ($1.25/1M input, 1.048576M context).
Llama 4 Scout is the value pick at $0.5/1M input with a long-context work score of 88/100.
Claude Fable 5 (Anthropic) is the overall long-context work leader at 99/100 if provider choice is open.
Choose Muse Spark when long-context work quality is the priority and you're staying on Meta.
Choose Llama 4 Scout when token volume matters more than peak quality.
Teams open to other providers should also evaluate Claude Fable 5 before committing.
Switch the scoring lens to see whether the top answer changes when you care more about cost, speed, or long-document work.
Meta / Balanced / Aug 6, 2026
Best-value multimodal agentic model — GPT-5.5-tier smarts, video/audio/PDF in.
Ranks models by the broadest mix of coding, writing, research, and long-context usefulness.
You need frontier-ceiling reasoning or a mature developer ecosystem — Opus 5 and GPT-5.6 lead both.
The fastest way to see where the recommendation shifts when your priority changes.
Best-value multimodal agentic model — GPT-5.5-tier smarts, video/audio/PDF in.
Best open-weight long-context option for self-hosted pipelines.
Best flexible option for teams that need open-weight portability.
Muse Spark 1.2 scores 80% on Terminal-Bench 2.1 and ranks #5 overall on GDPval-AA v2 (Elo 1631), ahead of Claude Opus 4.8 on agentic tasks
Natively multimodal in: text, image, video, audio, and PDF — broader input support than most rivals
$1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens — among the most cost-efficient models at its intelligence level (~$0.40/task)
Trails the frontier on raw intelligence: AA Intelligence Index 54 vs Claude Opus 5 (61) and GPT-5.6 Sol (59)
Weak on some hard agentic evals (27% tau3-Banking) and the API ecosystem is young — public API only since July 2026
UseRightAI recommendations are based on practical decision factors people actually feel in day-to-day use.
Newsletter
Useful if you care about ranking shifts, pricing changes, or a better recommendation appearing in this decision path.
No spam. Useful updates only. Affiliate disclosures always clearly labeled.
Muse Spark — it scores 90/100 on long-context work in this directory, ahead of Llama 4 Scout at 88/100. Best-value multimodal agentic model — GPT-5.5-tier smarts, video/audio/PDF in.
Not overall. Claude Fable 5 (Anthropic) leads the directory for long-context work at 99/100 vs Muse Spark's 90/100. Muse Spark is the best pick if you're staying within Meta's ecosystem.
Llama 4 Scout at $0.5/1M input tokens (long-context work score: 88/100). Use it for volume work and reserve Muse Spark for the tasks where quality matters most.
$1.25/1M input tokens and $4.25/1M output tokens via the API, or through Meta AI (free) at $0/mo for chat use. Context window: 1.048576M tokens.