Best cheap models for Hermes
CheapHermes runs all day, so the model price is your real subscription fee. These are the best cheap models for Hermes right now: everything costs at most about $0.75 per million input tokens, ranked by how much agent capability survives the price cut.
We also have more in-depth Hermes rankings:Best free models for HermesBest models for HermesBest open-source models for Hermes
The ranking
Updated June 2026
#ModelContextInput
- 11DeepSeek V4DeepSeekThe best cheap default: near-frontier quality, 1M context, $0.435 per million.Context1.049MInput$0.435/M
- 22Gemini 3 FlashGoogle DeepMindThe fastest cheap pick for high-volume runs, $0.50 per million.Context1.049MInput$0.5/M
- 33GPT-5.4 MiniOpenAIThe cheapest GPT that still handles real agent work. Codex subscription or API.Context400KInput$0.75/M
- 44Kimi K2.5Moonshot AIOpen-weight agentic coder at $0.40 per million input tokens.Context262KInput$0.4/M
- 55MiniMax-M3MiniMaxNear-frontier intelligence at $0.30 per million input tokens.Context205KInput$0.3/M
- 66DeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeekA 1M context window at $0.098 per million, for always-on background work.Context1.049MInput$0.098/M
- 77GLM 4.7 FlashZ.AIThe floor: $0.06 per million for sub-agents and routine steps.Context203KInput$0.06/M
What models users actually use for Hermes?
#ModelTokens
- 11Owl AlphaopenrouterTokens4.3T
- 22DeepSeek V4 FlashdeepseekTokens4T
- 33DeepSeek V4 ProdeepseekTokens1.2T
- 44MiniMax M3minimaxTokens805B
- 55Nemotron 3 SupernvidiaTokens730B
- 66Step 3.7 FlashstepfunTokens624B
- 77Claude Sonnet 4.6anthropicTokens440B
- 88MiniMax M2.7minimaxTokens392B
- 99Qwen3.6 PlusqwenTokens309B
- 1010Step 3.5 FlashstepfunTokens300B
- 1111Kimi K2.6moonshotaiTokens299B
- 1212Claude Opus 4.7anthropicTokens273B
- 13Tokens251B
- 1414GPT-5.5openaiTokens241B
- 15Tokens224B
- 1616Claude Opus 4.8anthropicTokens215B
- 1717Gemini 3.5 FlashgoogleTokens178B
- 1818Gemini 3 Flash PreviewgoogleTokens166B
- 1919gpt-oss-120bopenaiTokens141B
- 2020Claude Opus 4.6anthropicTokens134B
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.
More rankings for Hermes
Best free models for Hermes
Want to run Hermes without paying per token? OpenRouter serves plenty of capable models at $0 (rate limits apply). These are the best free models for Hermes, grouped by what you run it for: general agent work, coding, and fast high-volume steps.
Best models for Hermes
Hermes runs your skills locally and leans on the model for planning and skill use. These are the models that pair best with it right now, grouped by what you actually want to spend and ranked on real agentic-coding performance.
Best open-source models for Hermes
Open-weight models you can inspect, fine-tune, and self-host. Ideal for privacy-sensitive or air-gapped Hermes setups. We rank a deep bench here because Hermes routes more than 380 different models in the wild, and most of its real volume goes to open weights.
Details:
Agent
HermesModels
7Filter
CheapUpdated
June 2026
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