Stop overthinking it. Match the shape of the job to the shape of the model.
Good questions to ask first:
Skip the quiz. Six common asks, six ways to narrow the field.
Use a model whose drafts need the fewest style edits. The best writing pick is the one you rewrite least.
CheckAsk for three versions and choose the one with the strongest default taste.
Coding work needs context and verification more than a clever single answer. Favor models and apps that can inspect files, edit, and run tests.
CheckGive it a small real bug and see whether it changes the right file.
Reasoning models are worth the extra latency when each mistake is expensive and the answer has multiple dependent steps.
CheckAsk for assumptions, not just the final answer.
The model cannot reason over pages it never saw. Context window matters most when the source is long and cross-referenced.
CheckAsk it to cite where in the source each claim came from.
For tagging, extraction, routing, and simple Q&A, the right answer is usually the cheapest model that clears your eval.
CheckRun a 50-item sample before paying flagship prices.
Open-weight models trade managed polish for privacy, offline use, customization, and predictable infrastructure costs.
CheckRead the license before building a business on it.
Don't see your ask? Scroll to the full directory and compare the traits underneath the recommendation.
Sorted by each family's strongest practical signal. A deliberately stable snapshot as of April 2026 — the labels are family-level on purpose: exact release names move faster than this page should. For what landed this week, see AI Radar →
Anthropic
The flagship shape. Use it when the answer has to be deeply considered.
DeepSeek
Open-source reasoning powerhouse. Shockingly cheap.
Midjourney
The artist. Don't ask it to write code.
OpenAI
The heavyweight thinker. Bring your hard problems.
Anthropic
The sweet spot. Smart, fast, and surprisingly affordable.
Black Forest Labs
The new hotness in image gen. Punches up.
The context monster. Feed it your whole codebase.
OpenAI
The smart cheap one. Reasoning without the flagship price tag.
OpenAI
Easy image gen inside the OpenAI world.
OpenAI
The all-around OpenAI pick. Strong ecosystem, strong tool use.
Meta
The open-weight workhorse. Good when control matters.
Fast, cheap, and surprisingly capable.
Mistral
The European contender. Solid all-around.
Anthropic
Claude's fast little sibling. Great bang for buck.
OpenAI
Cheap, fast, and good enough for most things.
Models retire and new ones land. Spot something missing? let me know.