Best cheap AI models

Cheap

You no longer need a $15-per-million flagship for most work. These are the best cheap AI models in 2026: everything here costs at most about $1 per million input tokens, ranked by how much real capability you keep while the price drops.

The ranking

Updated June 2026

#ModelContextInput

1
1
DeepSeek V4DeepSeekThe best capability per dollar: near-frontier reasoning, 1M context, $0.435 per million.
Context1.049M
Input$0.435/M
2
2
MiniMax-M3MiniMaxNear-frontier intelligence at $0.30 per million input tokens.
Context205K
Input$0.3/M
3
3
Gemini 3 FlashGoogle DeepMindGoogle's fast workhorse: 1M context at $0.50 per million input tokens.
Context1.049M
Input$0.5/M
4
4
GPT-5.4 MiniOpenAIThe cheapest GPT that still handles real agent work, at $0.75 per million.
Context400K
Input$0.75/M
5
5
Claude Haiku 4.5AnthropicAnthropic's budget tier: dependable quality at $1 per million input tokens.
Context200K
Input$1/M
6
6
Kimi K2.5Moonshot AIOpen-weight agentic coder at $0.40 per million input tokens.
Context262K
Input$0.4/M
7
7
DeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeekA 1M context window at $0.098 per million. The high-volume default.
Context1.049M
Input$0.098/M
8
8
MiniMax M2.5MiniMaxOpen weights and solid quality at $0.15 per million input tokens.
Context205K
Input$0.15/M
9
9
Qwen3.5-FlashQwen1M context at $0.065 per million, for summarization and routine steps.
Context1M
Input$0.065/M
10
10
GLM 4.7 FlashZ.AIThe absolute floor that still works: $0.06 per million input tokens.
Context203K
Input$0.06/M

Intelligence vs. price

Each model's Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index score against its blended price per 1M tokens. Toward the top right is more intelligence per dollar.

Full interactive leaderboard on our Intelligence Index page.

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