AI Model Comparison Table — 2026
A comparison of major foundation models available in 2026. Use for capability, context, pricing, and use case selection. Pricing and specs change; verify with providers.
OpenAI
| Model | Tier | Context | Input (per 1M) | Output (per 1M) | Multi-modal | API |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o | High | 128K | ~$2.50 | ~$10 | Yes | Yes |
| GPT-4.5 | High | 128K+ | Higher | Higher | Yes | Yes |
| o1 / o3 | Reasoning | 200K+ | Premium | Premium | Text | Yes |
Best for — General purpose, coding, broad tool use. o1/o3 for complex reasoning.
Anthropic
| Model | Tier | Context | Input (per 1M) | Output (per 1M) | Multi-modal | API |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 4.6 | High | 200K | ~$5 | ~$25 | Vision | Yes |
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Mid | 200K | ~$3 | ~$15 | Vision | Yes |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | Fast | 200K | ~$1 | ~$5 | Vision | Yes |
Best for — Long context, analysis, writing, safety-focused use.
| Model | Tier | Context | Input (per 1M) | Output (per 1M) | Multi-modal | API |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | High | 1M+ | ~$1.25 | ~$10 | Yes | Yes |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | Fast | 1M+ | ~$0.30 | ~$2.50 | Yes | Yes |
Best for — Long context, cost-effective, multi-modal. Strong integration with Google ecosystem.
Meta
| Model | Tier | Context | Pricing | Multi-modal | API |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 4 | Open | 128K+ | Varies by host | Evolving | Via hosts |
Best for — Self-hosting, fine-tuning, open weights. Use via Replicate, Together, Groq, or self-host.
Mistral
| Model | Tier | Context | Pricing | Multi-modal | API |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mistral Large | High | 128K | Competitive | Yes | Yes |
| Mistral Small | Fast | 128K | Lower | Yes | Yes |
Best for — European deployment, cost/performance balance, open and proprietary options.
Others
DeepSeek — Strong on reasoning and code. Competitive pricing. API available.
Qwen — Alibaba. Good for Asian languages. Open and API.
Cohere — Enterprise focus. Embeddings and retrieval. Strong for RAG.
How to Choose
Capability — Hard tasks need high-tier models (Opus, GPT-4o, Gemini Pro). Simpler tasks can use Flash, Haiku, or smaller models.
Cost — At scale, token pricing matters. Gemini Flash and similar often win on cost. Compare input + output for your usage pattern.
Context — Long documents need long context (Claude, Gemini). Short conversations need less.
Multi-modal — Need vision or audio? Check model support. GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini support vision.
Open vs. proprietary — Open for self-host, privacy, fine-tuning. Proprietary for cutting-edge and managed infra.
Integration — Consider your stack. Google Workspace users may prefer Gemini. Developers may prefer Claude or GPT for tool use.
The Bottom Line
Model choice depends on task, cost, context, and integration. Use this table as a starting point. Verify pricing and specs with providers. Test with your use cases before committing.