Claude Opus 5.5 is the best AI for email. MiMo-V2.6-Pro comes close for 7% of the cost, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash answers fastest.
Claude Opus 5.5 is the best AI for email. MiMo-V2.6-Pro comes close for 7% of the cost, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash answers fastest.
33 models · Updated September 2026 · Data from Artificial Analysis
Claude Opus 5.5
Anthropic · High effort
The highest score of any model we compared at this setting.
MiMo-V2.6-Pro
Xiaomi · Standard effort
86% of Claude Opus 5.5's score for 7% of the cost.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek · Max effort
The quickest full answer from a model scoring 38 or more.
Over 45 s at every tested setting
Claude Opus 5.5
Anthropic · High effort
The highest score of any model we compared at this setting.
MiMo-V2.6-Pro
Xiaomi · Standard effort
86% of Claude Opus 5.5's score for 7% of the cost.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek · Max effort
The quickest full answer from a model scoring 38 or more.
Each job favors a different model. Pick the one closest to yours.
Drafting replies while you work through your inbox
Use
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
DeepSeek · Max effort
A draft in about 12 seconds for $2.94 per 1,000 emails. Fast enough that you don't wait on it.
Drafting replies while you work through your inbox
Use DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
A draft in about 12 seconds for $2.94 per 1,000 emails. Fast enough that you don't wait on it.
Sorting and tagging thousands of emails
Use MiMo-V2.6-Pro
$1.82 per 1,000 emails. About 61 seconds per email, fine for a job that runs in the background.
Important emails where tone matters
Use Claude Opus 5.5
The strongest model overall, at $26.27 per 1,000 emails. Worth it for the few messages that really count.
The cheapest option that still reads well
Use GPT-6 Luna
$0.62 per 1,000 emails. It scores 33.9, fine for short replies and summaries.
Making AI emails sound like you
Rewrite stiff AI drafts so they read like you wrote them.
Each dot is a model. Higher scores better, further left is cheaper, so the best deals sit top left. The cost axis is logarithmic: every step left is a big saving. Hover a dot for its numbers.
Sort by the pillar you care about, and set your monthly volume to see the bill. Costs include each model's thinking tokens at the setting shown.
Emails are short, so even the best model is cheap per message. Sorting 20,000 emails a month costs about $525 with Claude Opus 5.5, $36.34 with MiMo-V2.6-Pro and $58.76 with DeepSeek V4.1 Flash. The real difference is speed when you're waiting on a draft.
Email needs no special ability, so every model we track competes here. We compare every model at the setting people run day to day: its strongest reasoning setting that gives a full answer within 45 seconds in Artificial Analysis's tests. Switch to Max effort above for the benchmark numbers.
Intelligence is the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index at that setting. It stands in for how well a model understands a thread and writes a clear reply.
Cost starts from a typical email task of 4,000 tokens, 60% the thread you send and 40% the reply. We scale the output by how much each model wrote, thinking included, in Artificial Analysis's tests, so a model that thinks a lot pays for it.
Speed is the median time to a full answer in the same tests.
Best value is the most intelligence per dollar and fastest is the quickest full answer, both among models scoring 38 or more (within 30% of the leader). Neither pick goes to a model its maker has replaced.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash for everyday replies: a draft in about 12 seconds. Claude Opus 5.5 for emails where tone and accuracy really matter, at $26.27 per 1,000 emails.
MiMo-V2.6-Pro, at about $1.82 per 1,000 emails. Sorting and tagging don't need the strongest model, and triage usually runs in the background where speed matters less.
GPT-6 Luna, at about $0.62 per 1,000 emails. It scores 33.9, fine for short replies and summaries.
Give the model a few of your own emails as examples, ask for short sentences, and cut the stock openers and sign-offs. Our free humanizer tool can rewrite drafts that still sound stiff.
Answer three questions and get a pick for each part of your workload, with the monthly cost.