Best LLM for coding (2026)
Which model writes and fixes code best right now?
Rebuilt from live model data · August 3, 2026
How we ranked
Ranked by Artificial Analysis Coding Index, reported through OpenRouter's model API.
Top 3 for coding
- 1
Claude Opus 5
Coding index: 78.0 $5.00 in / $25.00 out per 1M 1M context 5 providersClaude Opus 5 is Anthropic’s flagship model for demanding reasoning, coding, and long-horizon agentic work. It is particularly strong at end-to-end software tasks, code review and bug finding, visual analysis...
Vision Tool calling Reasoning Released Jul 24, 2026 - 2
GPT-5.6 Sol
Coding index: 77.4 $5.00 in / $30.00 out per 1M 1.1M context 2 providersGPT-5.6 Sol is the flagship model in OpenAI's GPT-5.6 series. It is suited for complex reasoning, coding, and agentic workflows, and is particularly strong at command-line and multi-step coding tasks...
Vision Tool calling Reasoning Released Jul 9, 2026 - 3
GPT-5.6 Terra
Coding index: 76.7 $1.25 in / $7.50 out per 1M 1.1M context 2 providersGPT-5.6 Terra is a balanced model in OpenAI's GPT-5.6 series, positioned between the flagship Sol tier and the cost-efficient Luna tier. It is suited for everyday coding, reasoning, and agentic...
Vision Tool calling Reasoning Released Jul 9, 2026
Full ranking
| # | Model | Coding index | Output / 1M | Context | Providers | Weights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claude Opus 5 | 78.0 | $25.00 | 1M | 5 | Closed |
| 2 | GPT-5.6 Sol | 77.4 | $30.00 | 1.1M | 2 | Closed |
| 3 | GPT-5.6 Terra | 76.7 | $7.50 | 1.1M | 2 | Closed |
| 4 | Claude Fable 5 | 76.5 | $50.00 | 1M | 4 | Closed |
| 5 | Kimi K3 | 76.2 | $15.00 | 1.0M | 6 | Open |
| 6 | GPT-5.5 | 74.9 | $30.00 | 1.1M | 2 | Closed |
| 7 | Claude Opus 4.8 | 74.3 | $25.00 | 1M | 4 | Closed |
| 8 | Claude Opus 4.7 | 73.6 | $25.00 | 1M | 4 | Closed |
| 9 | Grok 4.5 | 72.4 | $6.00 | 500K | 1 | Closed |
| 10 | Claude Sonnet 5 | 71.5 | $10.00 | 1M | 4 | Closed |
| 11 | GPT-5.6 Luna | 71.4 | $3.00 | 1.1M | 2 | Closed |
| 12 | Muse Spark 1.1 | 71.3 | $4.25 | 1.0M | 1 | Closed |
FAQ
Which model writes and fixes code best right now?
Claude Opus 5 leads for coding with coding index 78.0, at $25.00 per 1M output tokens. GPT-5.6 Sol (77.4) and GPT-5.6 Terra (76.7) follow. Ranked by Artificial Analysis Coding Index, reported through OpenRouter's model API.
How is this ranking produced?
Ranked by Artificial Analysis Coding Index, reported through OpenRouter's model API. The list rebuilds from the live model catalogue on every deploy, so a model that launches or changes price appears here without an editor rewriting the page. Last rebuild: August 3, 2026.
What does the top pick cost to run?
Claude Opus 5 costs about $12.50 for a workload of 1M input + 300K output tokens, based on the cheapest of 5 provider(s).