---
title: Model Recommendations
url: https://arcana.otnelhq.com/docs/models
---

# Model Recommendations



Not sure which model to use? This guide picks the best model for common tasks based on current provider catalogs (OpenRouter, AIHubMix, Cloudflare Workers AI). All models work through Arcana — just set the provider key and go.



          Model data sourced from:   OpenRouter API ,  AIHubMix API ,  Cloudflare AI . Last verified Jul 25, 2026. 


## Quick Picks



| Task | Recommended | Context | Why |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Everyday coding** | `claude-sonnet-5` or `gpt-5.4` | 1M | Best all-round quality and tool use |
| **Budget coding** | `gpt-4.1-mini` or `gemini-3.6-flash` | 1M | Very cheap, still very capable |
| **Deep reasoning** | `claude-opus-5` or `claude-fable-5` | 1M | Flagship reasoning and agentic work |
| **Long documents** | `gemini-3.6-flash` or `kimi-k3` | 1M | Massive context windows |
| **Fast responses** | `gpt-4.1-nano` or `gemini-3.5-flash-lite` | 1M | Lowest latency, high throughput |
| **Free / local** | `ollama/llama3` | varies | No API key, runs on your machine |




## By Provider




### OpenAI



| Model | Context | Strengths | Cost Tier |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `gpt-5.6-sol` | 1M | State-of-the-art coding, science, cybersecurity | High |
| `gpt-5.6-terra` | 1M | Balanced intelligence and cost (mini tier) | Medium |
| `gpt-5.6-luna` | 1M | Cost-sensitive, high-volume workloads (nano tier) | Low |
| `gpt-5.5` | varies | Strong coding, reasoning, multimodal | High |
| `gpt-5.4` | varies | Flagship model, strong all-round | High |
| `gpt-5.4-mini` | varies | Smaller, faster, cost-efficient | Medium |
| `gpt-5.4-nano` | varies | Smallest and fastest, edge use cases | Low |
| `gpt-5` | varies | Coding, writing, reasoning | High |
| `gpt-5-mini` | varies | Lightweight, high-volume tasks | Medium |
| `gpt-5-nano` | varies | Smallest GPT-5, low latency | Low |
| `gpt-4.1` | 1M | Reliable flagship, excellent tool use | Medium |
| `gpt-4.1-mini` | 1M | Fast, affordable, still very capable | Low |
| `gpt-4.1-nano` | 1M | Smallest, cheapest, high-throughput | Very Low |




### Anthropic



| Model | Context | Strengths | Cost Tier |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `claude-fable-5` | 1M | Most capable model, demanding reasoning, long-horizon agentic work | Very High |
| `claude-opus-5` | 1M | Flagship for complex agentic coding and enterprise work | High |
| `claude-opus-4.8` | 200K | Most powerful publicly available, complex reasoning | High |
| `claude-opus-4.7` | 1M | Step-change improvement in agentic coding | High |
| `claude-sonnet-5` | 1M | Most agentic Sonnet, coding, tool use, reasoning | Medium |
| `claude-sonnet-4.6` | varies | Balanced coding, reasoning, agentic capabilities | Medium |
| `claude-haiku-4.5` | varies | Coding performance at 1/3 cost, 2x speed | Low |




### Google Gemini



| Model | Context | Strengths | Cost Tier |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `gemini-3.6-flash` | 1M | Frontier intelligence, code generation, agentic execution, spatial reasoning | Low |
| `gemini-3.5-flash` | 1M | Fast multimodal, sub-agent deployment, long-horizon tasks | Low |
| `gemini-3.5-flash-lite` | 1M | Lowest latency, high-throughput subagent tasks | Very Low |
| `gemini-3.1-pro` | 1M | Most intelligent Gemini, improved reasoning | Medium |
| `gemini-2.5-pro` | 1M | Strong reasoning, thinking support | Medium |
| `gemini-2.5-flash` | 1M | Fast multimodal, strong reasoning | Low |




### xAI (Grok)



| Model | Context | Strengths | Cost Tier |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `grok-4.5` | 1M | Coding, science, engineering, math — exceeds comparable frontier models | Medium |
| `grok-build-0.1` | 256K | Fast coding model for agentic coding workflows | Low |




### MoonshotAI (Kimi)



| Model | Context | Strengths | Cost Tier |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `kimi-k3` | 1M | 2.8T params, long-horizon coding, knowledge work, #1 in multiple arenas | Medium |
| `coding-kimi-k3` | 1M | Coding-specialized variant of Kimi K3 | Low |




### DeepSeek



| Model | Context | Strengths | Cost Tier |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `deepseek-v4-pro` | varies | High-capability reasoning, production-grade inference | Low |




### Alibaba (Qwen)



| Model | Context | Strengths | Cost Tier |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `qwen3.8-max-preview` | ~1M | 2.4T params, full-stack dev, data analysis, Office workflows | Low |
| `qwen3-max` | varies | Strong coding, reasoning, multilingual | Low |




### Other Notable Models



| Model | Provider | Context | Strengths |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `glm-5.2` | Zhipu AI | 1M | Project-level engineering, full dev workflow |
| `muse-spark-1.1` | Meta | 1M | Multimodal reasoning, agentic tasks, accepts video/audio/PDF |
| `hy3` | Tencent | 256K | 295B MoE, coding agent, long-doc analysis |
| `m3` | MiniMax | 1M | Frontier coding, agentic capabilities |
| `doubao-seed-2.1-pro` | ByteDance | 256K | Enterprise coding, agent, multimodal |
| `laguna-s-2.1` | Poolside | 1M | 118B coding agent model, 70.2% Terminal-Bench |




## By Task Type




### Coding & Development



| Model | Strengths | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `claude-opus-5` | End-to-end software tasks, code review, bug finding, agentic coding | High |
| `gpt-5.6-sol` | State-of-the-art across coding, knowledge, science | High |
| `claude-sonnet-5` | Strong coding, tool use, follows instructions precisely | Medium |
| `kimi-k3` | #1 in coding arenas, 1M context, long-horizon coding | Medium |
| `gpt-4.1` | Reliable code generation, debugging, refactoring | Medium |
| `deepseek-v4-pro` | High-capability reasoning, very cheap | Very Low |
| `laguna-s-2.1` | Purpose-built coding agent, 1M context | Low |




### Writing & Content



| Model | Strengths | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `claude-sonnet-5` | Natural prose, creative writing, editing, professional work | Medium |
| `gpt-5.4` | Structured content, technical writing, strong all-round | High |
| `gemini-3.6-flash` | Long-form content, document analysis, 1M context | Low |




### Analysis & Research



| Model | Strengths | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `claude-fable-5` | Most capable reasoning, 1M context, nuanced analysis | Very High |
| `gemini-3.6-flash` | 1M context, analyze entire codebases or document sets | Low |
| `kimi-k3` | 2.8T params, #1 in knowledge work arenas | Medium |




### Creative & Brainstorming



| Model | Strengths | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `claude-sonnet-5` | Creative writing, worldbuilding, dialogue | Medium |
| `gpt-5.4` | Brainstorming, diverse ideas, multimodal | High |
| `grok-4.5` | Real-time context, current events, humor | Medium |




## The Utility Model



Arcana uses a secondary "utility model" for background tasks like fact extraction, session compaction, and summarization. Set this to a cheap, fast model:



```json
{
  "model": "claude-sonnet-5",
  "utilityModel": "gpt-4.1-nano"
}
```



Good utility model picks: `gpt-4.1-nano`, `gpt-4.1-mini`, `gemini-3.5-flash-lite`, `gemini-3.6-flash`.




## Switching Models



You can switch models mid-session without restarting:



```bash
# In the TUI, type:
/providers

# Or set in config:
export ARCANA_MODEL=claude-sonnet-5
```




## Tips



- Start with `claude-sonnet-5` or `gpt-5.4` — they handle most tasks well
- Use `gpt-4.1-nano` or `gemini-3.5-flash-lite` as the utility model to keep costs low
- Switch to `claude-opus-5` or `claude-fable-5` only when you need deep reasoning
- For budget coding, `deepseek-v4-pro` and `kimi-k3` punch well above their price
- Run `arcana models` to see all available models from your detected providers
- Prices change frequently — check provider pricing pages for current rates