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Web research, fact-checking, information synthesis. Ranked by quality, cost, and real-world performance.
16 models compared · Data powered by Artificial Analysis
Ranked comparison of 16 AI models for research tasks. Claude Opus 5 leads on quality (score 61), while Gemini 3.5 Flash provides the most affordable entry point.
AI models for research need to synthesize information from large documents, maintain accuracy across long conversations, and provide well-structured outputs. Large context windows are particularly valuable here.
Mid-range and premium models offer the best balance for research workflows. They're accurate enough for fact-checking and synthesis while remaining affordable for extended research sessions.
For research agents that run autonomously, pair a capable primary model with a budget subagent for simple lookups and data retrieval tasks.
| # | Model | Tier | Quality | Price (In/Out) | Est. Cost (100/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claude Opus 5 Anthropic | Frontier | 61 | $5.00 / $25.00 | $26.00 |
| 2 | Claude Fable 5 Anthropic | Frontier | 60 | $10.00 / $50.00 | $52.00 |
| 3 | GPT-5.6 Sol OpenAI | Frontier | 59 | $5.00 / $30.00 | $30.00 |
| 4 | Kimi K3 Moonshot AI | Frontier | 57 | $3.00 / $15.00 | $15.60 |
| 5 | Claude Opus 4.8 Anthropic | Frontier | 56 | $5.00 / $25.00 | $26.00 |
| 6 | GPT-5.6 Terra OpenAI | Premium | 55 | $2.00 / $12.00 | $12.00 |
| 7 | GPT-5.5 OpenAI | Premium | 55 | $5.00 / $30.00 | $30.00 |
| 8 | Claude Opus 4.7 Anthropic | Premium | 54 | $5.00 / $25.00 | $26.00 |
| 9 | Grok 4.5 xAI | Premium | 54 | $2.00 / $6.00 | $7.20 |
| 10 | Claude Sonnet 5 Anthropic | Premium | 53 | $2.00 / $10.00 | $10.40 |
| 11 | Gemini 3.6 Flash Google | Mid-Range | 50 | $1.50 / $7.50 | $7.80 |
| 12 | Gemini 3.5 Flash Google | Budget | 50 | $1.50 / $9.00 | $9.00 |
| 13 | Gemini 3.1 Pro Google | Frontier | 47 | $2.50 / $15.00 | $15.00 |
| 14 | Gemini 3 Flash Google | Budget | 46 | $0.07 / $0.30 | $0.33 |
| 15 | Grok 4 xAI | Premium | 43 | $3.00 / $15.00 | $15.60 |
| 16 | Gemini 3 Pro Google | Premium | 40 | $2.00 / $12.00 | $12.00 |