Choosing the Right Model

How to pick the best AI model for your task.

Written By Siim Nurges

Last updated 4 days ago

🎯 Different tasks call for different models. Here is how to pick the right one.

For Complex Analysis

Use flagship models like GPT-5.2, Claude Opus 4.6, Gemini 3 Pro, Grok 4, or Kimi K2.5. These handle long documents, nuanced questions, and multi-step reasoning.

Best for: Research reports, strategy analysis, complex problem-solving.

For Everyday Tasks

Claude Sonnet 4.5, GPT-5.1, or Grok 4 Fast give you strong quality with good speed. Great for writing, answering questions, and general work.

Best for: Emails, summaries, explanations, everyday questions.

For Quick Questions

GPT-5 mini, GPT-5 nano, Claude Haiku 4.5, Gemini 3 Flash, or Mistral Small respond almost instantly and cost less. Use them for facts, simple calculations, and short answers.

Best for: Quick lookups, simple tasks, high-volume work.

For Coding

Grok Code Fast 1, Codestral, Claude Sonnet 4.5, or GPT-5.1 are excellent for programming. They understand code well and give practical solutions.

Best for: Writing code, debugging, code review, explaining code.

For Reasoning

Deepseek R1 or Kimi K2 Thinking excel at step-by-step problem solving. They show their work and catch logical errors.

Best for: Math problems, logic puzzles, research requiring careful reasoning.

For Cost-Efficiency

Deepseek V3, Deepseek R1, GPT-5 nano, Gemini 3 Flash, and Mistral Small offer great value. They handle most tasks well at lower credit cost.

Best for: High-volume tasks, budget-conscious teams.

For Images

Most models support vision (analyzing images you upload). Pixtral Large is specifically optimized for image understanding.

💡 Not sure? Start with Claude Sonnet 4.5 or GPT-5.2. They work well for almost everything, and you can switch if needed.