Best LLMs by Use Case

Last refreshed 2026-11-14. Next refresh: weekly.

Ranked shortlists by primary task: Coding, RAG, Agents, Long context, Vision, Classification, and JSON / Tool use — with comparison shortcuts and API pricing for each pick.

Best LLMs for Code Generation

Coding LLMs in 2026, ranked by CursorBench v4.0. Includes API pricing and context window for each pick, updated daily.

Best LLMs for RAG

Best LLMs for RAG in 2026 — ranked by RULER score at 128K tokens. Other models without a 128K RULER score are not listed.

Best LLMs for Agents vs Agent Products (2026)

Pick a base model for Agents, then compare agent products separately by CLI, IDE, cloud, app-builder, or self-hosted surface and execution fit.

Best LLMs for Classification

LLMs for text classification, routing, and moderation in 2026, shown unranked and sorted by release date, newest first.

Best Open Source LLMs

The best open-weight LLMs in 2026, ranked by benchmark scores. Run locally, self-host, or deploy on your own infra — no API key required.

Best Multimodal / Vision LLMs

Best vision and multimodal LLMs in 2026, ranked by LMArena Vision overall. Models without an LMArena Vision score are listed below, unranked.

Best LLM for Translation in 2026

Curated dedicated text translation models in a fixed editorial order, not a ranking, then general chat models with 128K+ measured context. No translation-quality score is used.

Best AI Image Models in 2026

Compare image generation and editing models across GPT Image, Gemini Nano Banana, FLUX, Ideogram, and related creative providers. Distinct from /best/vision, which ranks multimodal image-understanding LLMs.

Best AI Video Models in 2026

Compare video generation models across Sora, Veo, Runway, Kling, Luma, and related creative providers. Distinct from /best/vision, which ranks multimodal models that understand video inputs.

Best LLMs for Reasoning & Math

Best reasoning and math LLMs in 2026, ranked by ARC-AGI-2 (ARC Prize), with GPQA Diamond for models without an ARC-AGI-2 score. Includes thinking-mode models and chain-of-thought specialists.

Best Small Language Models (SLMs)

The best small LLMs under 10B parameters in 2026 — fast, cheap, and deployable on-device or at the edge with strong benchmark scores.

Best LLMs for JSON / JSON / Tool use

LLMs for JSON / JSON / Tool use in 2026, shown unranked and sorted by release date, newest first. Includes native JSON output and structured output support.

Cheapest LLM APIs You Can Call Right Now

The cheapest LLM APIs you can call today, ranked by input price with a quality score beside each so you see the trade-off.

Best Long Context LLMs

LLMs with measured context windows of 128K tokens or more in 2026, shown unranked and sorted by measured context window, then release date.

Best Mainstream LLM APIs, Ranked

The best LLM APIs for developers in 2026 — ranked by benchmark quality first, then price. Updated daily with live provider pricing.

Best LLMs for Enterprise

Enterprise-grade LLMs with JSON / Tool use and structured outputs. Shown unranked, sorted by context window then release date.

Best Free LLMs You Can Use Right Now

Free LLMs you can use right now: models with a zero-cost hosted tier. Updated as free tiers change.

Best LLMs for Writing

The best LLMs for writing in 2026, ranked by LMArena Creative Writing human-preference scores, with the LMArena text score, then MMLU, for models without one. Covers long-form essays and creative prose, with pricing.

Best LLMs for Marketing

Top language models for marketing copy, ad creative, email, social posts, and brand-voice content. Ranked by Chatbot Arena human-preference scores with MMLU as a fallback.

Best LLMs for Customer Support

JSON / Tool use models for support bots, ranked by tau-bench service-task performance with BFCL fallback and a $25 per 1k conversation cost gate.

New to LLMs?

Start here before opening a ranked shortlist
What Is an LLM?

How language models work, in plain English

How to Choose an LLM

A 5-step framework: task, budget, context, provider, openness

LLM API Pricing Explained

Tokens, input vs output cost, batch pricing, cost estimator

Routing layer

Gateway and routing-layer shortlists

Best LLM gateways

LLM gateways sit between your app and one or more model providers. Use this list when you want a unified endpoint, provider failover, observability, or governance without changing the model decision itself.

Best LLM routers

LLM routers choose the model or tier for each request. Use this page when cost, quality, latency, or reliability depends on routing policy rather than one static model pick.

OpenRouter alternatives

OpenRouter is a hybrid router, but it is not the only way to unify model access. This view excludes OpenRouter and keeps the alternatives that still give you gateway or hybrid routing behavior.

Self-hosted LLM routers

Self-hosted router and gateway options keep routing policy closer to your infrastructure. Use this list when vendor lock-in, data boundaries, or deployment control matter more than hosted convenience.

Open-source LLM routers

Open-source router and gateway projects are the right first stop when you need inspectable routing policy, self-host paths, or a proxy you can adapt. This page keeps open-source rows in one view across gateway, router, and hybrid types.

Cheapest LLM gateway options

Cost-focused routing can lower spend by sending simple requests to cheaper models or cheaper provider routes. Use this page for gateways whose verified objective includes cost optimization.

LLM cost optimization routers

Cost optimization routers decide when a cheaper model or provider route is good enough. Use this list when you already know the task shape and need a routing layer to keep quality while reducing token spend.