Models are included when their public model metadata indicates coding, programming, developer, software, or code generation use cases.
Best LLM API Models for Coding
This guide highlights models whose public metadata indicates coding, programming, developer, or software-oriented use cases.
50Models listed
1M + 500KCost example tokens
USD / 1MNormalized prices
Quick shortlist
Start with Claude Opus 4.7.
This guide starts with coding-oriented models and current popularity rank so developers can shortlist practical options faster.
The ranking is a discovery aid, not a final recommendation. Always compare the model against your workload and verify provider pricing before production use.
Model Ranking
Browse all models| Model | Provider | Prompt | Output | Example Cost | Your Cost | Context | Rank | Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🔥Claude Opus 4.7 | Anthropic | $5 | $25 | $17.5 | $17.5 | 1M | #2 | 2026-04-16 |
| 🔥Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Anthropic | $3 | $15 | $10.5 | $10.5 | 1M | #3 | 2026-02-17 |
| 🔥Kimi K2.6 | MoonshotAI | $0.74 | $3.5 | $2.49 | $2.49 | 262.14K | #5 | 2026-04-20 |
| 🔥Gemini 3 Flash Preview | $0.5 | $3 | $2 | $2 | 1.05M | #6 | 2025-12-17 | |
| 🔥DeepSeek V4 Pro | DeepSeek | $0.435 | $0.87 | $0.87 | $0.87 | 1.05M | #8 | 2026-04-24 |
 🔥Ring-2.6-1T (free) | inclusionAI | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 262.14K | #10 | 2026-05-08 |
| 🔥Gemini 2.5 Flash | $0.3 | $2.5 | $1.55 | $1.55 | 1.05M | #13 | 2025-06-17 | |
| 🔥Owl Alpha | OpenRouter | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 1.05M | #17 | 2026-04-28 |
| CoBuddy (free) | Baidu Qianfan | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 131.07K | Unranked | 2026-05-06 |
| Granite 4.1 8B | IBM | $0.05 | $0.1 | $0.1 | $0.1 | 131.07K | Unranked | 2026-04-30 |
| Mistral Medium 3.5 | Mistral | $1.5 | $7.5 | $5.25 | $5.25 | 262.14K | Unranked | 2026-04-30 |
| Laguna XS.2 (free) | Poolside | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 131.07K | Unranked | 2026-04-28 |
| Laguna M.1 (free) | Poolside | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 131.07K | Unranked | 2026-04-28 |
| Qwen3.6 Max Preview | Qwen | $1.04 | $6.24 | $4.16 | $4.16 | 262.14K | Unranked | 2026-04-27 |
| MiMo-V2.5-Pro | Xiaomi | $1 | $3 | $2.5 | $2.5 | 1.05M | Unranked | 2026-04-22 |
| GPT-5.4 Image 2 | OpenAI | $8 | $15 | $15.5 | $15.5 | 272K | Unranked | 2026-04-21 |
| GLM 5.1 | Z.ai | $1.05 | $3.5 | $2.8 | $2.8 | 202.75K | Unranked | 2026-04-07 |
| GLM 5V Turbo | Z.ai | $1.2 | $4 | $3.2 | $3.2 | 202.75K | Unranked | 2026-04-01 |
| KAT-Coder-Pro V2 | Kwaipilot | $0.3 | $1.2 | $0.9 | $0.9 | 256K | Unranked | 2026-03-27 |
| GPT-5.4 Mini | OpenAI | $0.75 | $4.5 | $3 | $3 | 400K | Unranked | 2026-03-17 |
| Qwen3.5-9B | Qwen | $0.04 | $0.15 | $0.11 | $0.11 | 262.14K | Unranked | 2026-03-10 |
| GPT-5.4 | OpenAI | $2.5 | $15 | $10 | $10 | 1.05M | Unranked | 2026-03-05 |
| GPT-5.3-Codex | OpenAI | $1.75 | $14 | $8.75 | $8.75 | 400K | Unranked | 2026-02-24 |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview | $2 | $12 | $8 | $8 | 1.05M | Unranked | 2026-02-19 | |
| MiniMax M2.5 | MiniMax | $0.15 | $1.15 | $0.72 | $0.72 | 196.61K | Unranked | 2026-02-12 |
| MiniMax M2.5 (free) | MiniMax | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 196.61K | Unranked | 2026-02-12 |
| GLM 5 | Z.ai | $0.6 | $1.92 | $1.56 | $1.56 | 202.75K | Unranked | 2026-02-11 |
| Claude Opus 4.6 | Anthropic | $5 | $25 | $17.5 | $17.5 | 1M | Unranked | 2026-02-04 |
| Qwen3 Coder Next | Qwen | $0.11 | $0.8 | $0.51 | $0.51 | 262.14K | Unranked | 2026-02-04 |
| Kimi K2.5 | MoonshotAI | $0.4 | $1.9 | $1.35 | $1.35 | 262.14K | Unranked | 2026-01-27 |
| GPT Audio | OpenAI | $2.5 | $10 | $7.5 | $7.5 | 128K | Unranked | 2026-01-19 |
| GPT Audio Mini | OpenAI | $0.6 | $2.4 | $1.8 | $1.8 | 128K | Unranked | 2026-01-19 |
| GLM 4.7 Flash | Z.ai | $0.06 | $0.4 | $0.26 | $0.26 | 202.75K | Unranked | 2026-01-19 |
| GPT-5.2-Codex | OpenAI | $1.75 | $14 | $8.75 | $8.75 | 400K | Unranked | 2026-01-14 |
| MiniMax M2.1 | MiniMax | $0.29 | $0.95 | $0.76 | $0.76 | 196.61K | Unranked | 2025-12-23 |
| GLM 4.7 | Z.ai | $0.4 | $1.75 | $1.27 | $1.27 | 202.75K | Unranked | 2025-12-22 |
| Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B | NVIDIA | $0.05 | $0.2 | $0.15 | $0.15 | 262.14K | Unranked | 2025-12-14 |
| Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) | NVIDIA | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 256K | Unranked | 2025-12-14 |
| GPT-5.2 Pro | OpenAI | $21 | $168 | $105 | $105 | 400K | Unranked | 2025-12-10 |
| Devstral 2 2512 | Mistral | $0.4 | $2 | $1.4 | $1.4 | 262.14K | Unranked | 2025-12-09 |
| Relace Search | Relace | $1 | $3 | $2.5 | $2.5 | 256K | Unranked | 2025-12-08 |
| Rnj 1 Instruct | EssentialAI | $0.15 | $0.15 | $0.22 | $0.22 | 32.77K | Unranked | 2025-12-07 |
| GPT-5.1-Codex-Max | OpenAI | $1.25 | $10 | $6.25 | $6.25 | 400K | Unranked | 2025-12-04 |
| Claude Opus 4.5 | Anthropic | $5 | $25 | $17.5 | $17.5 | 200K | Unranked | 2025-11-24 |
| GPT-5.1-Codex | OpenAI | $1.25 | $10 | $6.25 | $6.25 | 400K | Unranked | 2025-11-13 |
| GPT-5.1-Codex-Mini | OpenAI | $0.25 | $2 | $1.25 | $1.25 | 400K | Unranked | 2025-11-13 |
| MiniMax M2 | MiniMax | $0.255 | $1 | $0.76 | $0.76 | 196.61K | Unranked | 2025-10-23 |
| GPT-5 Image | OpenAI | $10 | $10 | $15 | $15 | 400K | Unranked | 2025-10-14 |
| Llama 3.3 Nemotron Super 49B V1.5 | NVIDIA | $0.1 | $0.4 | $0.3 | $0.3 | 131.07K | Unranked | 2025-10-10 |
| ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking | Baidu | $0.07 | $0.28 | $0.21 | $0.21 | 131.07K | Unranked | 2025-10-09 |
Pricing FAQ
How is the sample workload cost calculated?
The sample workload uses 1 million input tokens plus 500 thousand output tokens, then applies each model's normalized USD price per 1 million tokens.
Why do input and output token prices matter separately?
Many applications are output-token heavy, while retrieval and classification workloads may be input-token heavy. Comparing both prices helps avoid picking a model that is cheap for the wrong workload shape.
Should I verify prices before production use?
Yes. AI Model Matrix normalizes public pricing metadata for comparison, but provider availability, limits, and prices can change. Always verify the final contract or provider dashboard before production use.
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