The fastest broad-use AI model in this directory is Gemini 3.1 Flash. Claude 4 Haiku is the stronger fast-writing alternative, and Codestral 25.01 is the fastest coding specialist.
The shortest way to see the safest default, the lower-cost option, and the specialist pick before you read deeper.
Gemini 3.1 Flash is the safest overall answer here when you want the strongest default instead of the lowest list price.
Switch the scoring lens to see whether the top answer changes when you care more about cost, speed, or long-document work.
Google / Budget / May 4, 2026
Best cheap AI for broad day-to-day work — now with 1M context.
Ranks models by the broadest mix of coding, writing, research, and long-context usefulness.
You need premium reasoning depth or the highest coding benchmark scores.
The fastest way to see where the recommendation shifts when your priority changes.
1M token context window at $0.50/$3 per million tokens
2.5× faster time-to-first-token than Gemini 2.5 Flash
Strong multimodal support across text, images, audio, and video
Not as sharp as premium models on hard reasoning or complex coding
May need more validation on nuanced technical tasks
UseRightAI recommendations are based on practical decision factors people actually feel in day-to-day use.
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Useful if you care about ranking shifts, pricing changes, or a better recommendation appearing in this decision path.
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The top-ranked model in this directory changes as new models launch and prices shift. Check the recommendation at the top of this page for the current best pick.
The best coding model in this directory is ranked by SWE-bench score and real-world developer adoption. The current #1 is shown at the top of our coding comparison pages.
The cheapest capable AI model changes as providers adjust pricing. Check our cheapest AI comparison page for the current lowest-cost option per million tokens.
The fastest models in the directory are ranked by speed score. Check our fastest AI page for the current top picks by latency and throughput.
Most businesses get the best results pairing one premium model for quality work with one budget model for volume — rather than forcing a single model to do everything.
Meta: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is the lower-cost option to start with when you still need useful output at scale.
Claude 4 Haiku is the better pick when response speed matters more than maximum reasoning depth.
Gemini 3.1 Flash is the fastest broad-use pick in the current directory.
Claude 4 Haiku is the fastest good writing-first model.
Codestral 25.01 is the best speed-first coding specialist.
Choose the fastest broad-use model when the work is repetitive and operational.
Choose the fastest specialist model when the workflow is mostly writing or mostly coding.
Do not over-index on speed when wrong answers create expensive follow-up work.
