The frontier moves weekly. We track the models that matter — from the eight labs that actually move the market — with sourced numbers and a plain-English 'why it matters'.
Our read of public benchmarks, updated weekly. Opinion, clearly labeled — click any model for its source.
| Model | Lab | Released | Context | Headline benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLM-5.3 | Z.ai | Aug 14, 2026 | — | Terminal-Bench 3.0 (Z.ai self-reported): 28.3, up from GLM-5.2's 4.6 (GPT-5.6 Sol 34.6) |
| Grok 4.6 | xAI | Aug 12, 2026 | 500K | API price (per 1M in/out tokens, <200k prompt): $2 / $6 |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro (0813)open weights | DeepSeek | Aug 12, 2026 | 1M | API price (per 1M in/out tokens, promo): $0.435 / $0.87 |
| Seedance 2.5video | ByteDance | Jul 31, 2026 | — | Single-pass clip length: 30 seconds (up from 15) |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash (0731)open weights | DeepSeek | Jul 31, 2026 | 1M | API price (per 1M in/out tokens): $0.14 / $0.28 |
| Claude Opus 5 | Anthropic | Jul 24, 2026 | — | API price (per 1M in/out tokens): $5 / $25 |
| Kimi K3open weights | Moonshot AI | Jul 16, 2026 | 1M | Total parameters (sparse MoE): 2.8T |
| GPT-5.6 (Sol · Terra · Luna) | OpenAI | Jul 9, 2026 | — | API price, Sol (per 1M in/out tokens): $5 / $30 |
Z.ai's 14 Aug 2026 release reuses GLM-5.2's base model — every gain comes from scaled post-training on long-horizon RL environments. Large jumps on agentic coding (Terminal-Bench 3.0 4.6 → 28.3, SWE-Marathon 19.4 → 42.5) and an unplanned cyber result (CyberGym 84.5). All figures are Z.ai's own; no independent evaluation exists yet. Weights promised two weeks after launch.
Why it matters: It reaches Opus 4.8's coding score on roughly 2.4× fewer output tokens, so the saving is on the bill rather than the leaderboard — but check your API calls first: `thinking.type: "disabled"` is no longer supported and will fail on glm-5.3.
xAI's 12 Aug 2026 successor to Grok 4.5: same $2/$6 API price, same 500K context, a longer post-training run aimed at long-running agents and visual/interactive work. A faster variant costs double. Knowledge cut-off is 1 Feb 2026.
Why it matters: Frontier-class intelligence at the old 4.5 price — migrate off 4.5 with a one-line model swap. It is a knowledge-work pick, not the cheapest volume model and not the strongest terminal coding agent.
The deepseek-v4-pro API id now serves DeepSeek-V4-Pro-0813 weights. Calling method and promo pricing are unchanged. DeepSeek's changelog still has no Pro GA entry — the last note (31 Jul) said an official Pro release would follow soon — so this is a weight drop, not a new product.
Why it matters: Harder reasoning stays cheap on the same endpoint. Keep Flash ($0.14/$0.28) for volume; do not treat 0813 as a priced relaunch until DeepSeek posts a changelog.
ByteDance's new video model generates 30-second audio-and-video clips in one pass, extends them over multiple rounds for multi-minute pieces, and edits by timestamp. At launch it runs inside Jimeng AI and Doubao Pro, with API access announced as coming via BytePlus ModelArk rather than available.
Why it matters: The clearest jump yet in one-take video, but there is no general API to wire into a workflow — treat it as something to try inside a consumer video app, not a tool to rebuild your content process around until the API actually ships.
The official V4 Flash checkpoint entered public beta on the existing deepseek-v4-flash API id, replacing the April preview. The legacy deepseek-chat and deepseek-reasoner ids were retired on 2026-07-24.
Why it matters: Near-frontier results at roughly a tenth of typical API prices, with MIT-licensed open weights — the budget and privacy-sensitive pick just got better without changing price.
Anthropic's new everyday flagship: close to Fable 5 on most benchmarks at half the price ($5/$25 vs $10/$50 per MTok), with a low/medium/high effort toggle to trade cost against capability.
Why it matters: Frontier-level output at half the flagship price — re-check which Claude tier your workflows actually need before renewing.
Moonshot's 2.8-trillion-parameter sparse MoE — reportedly the largest open-weight model yet, with a 1M-token context window. Weights announced for late July; until then benchmark claims are vendor-reported.
Why it matters: Open-weight models keep closing on the paid frontier — if you pay per-token for API work, the cheap tier just got stronger again.
OpenAI's GPT-5.6 family in three tiers — Sol (frontier), Terra (balanced), Luna (fast/cheap) — general availability across ChatGPT, Codex, and the API on Jul 9 after a government-vetted limited preview in late June.
Why it matters: Three clear price tiers make it easier to match the model to the job — most small-business tasks belong on the cheap tier, not the flagship.
xAI's first model built specifically for coding and agentic work, priced aggressively under Anthropic and OpenAI flagships with a 500K context window.
Why it matters: Agentic coding on a budget is now a three-way price war — worth re-testing your coding stack before renewing anything.
A Mythos-class model made safe for general use — Anthropic's most capable generally available model, sitting above the Opus tier.
Why it matters: The frontier of general-purpose reasoning just moved again; capable assistants keep getting cheaper to match.
The Mythos-class model available to approved organizations without the general-use safety measures applied to Fable 5.
Why it matters: Signals how fast the top tier is advancing — the same capability reaches everyone shortly after.
A strong all-round released model, widely cited as a top performer through mid-2026.
Why it matters: A dependable default for hard reasoning, coding, and long-document work.
OpenAI's mid-2026 frontier update, trading the top spot with Claude Opus on many benchmarks.
Why it matters: Keeps the price-for-capability race moving — good news for anyone paying per token.
A March 2026 frontier release with a 1M-token context window and strong computer-use scores.
Why it matters: Million-token context means it can read whole manuals, contracts, or codebases at once.
An open-weights frontier model with a 1M+ token context window and strong coding scores.
Why it matters: Open weights + very low cost make it the value pick for budget-conscious and privacy-sensitive setups.
Google's February 2026 frontier update to the Gemini 3 line, with a very large context window.
Why it matters: Deep integration with Google Workspace makes it a natural fit if you live in Docs and Gmail.
A February 2026 iteration in the GPT-5 line ahead of the March 5.4 release.
Why it matters: Part of the steady cadence keeping the mainstream assistant sharp.
A February 2026 Opus update (alongside Sonnet 4.6), continuing Anthropic's rapid iteration.
Why it matters: Reliability gains at the same price point — worth re-testing your prompts on each bump.
The Gemini 3 flagship that opened the current generation for Google.
Why it matters: Set the bar for long-context multimodal work heading into 2026.
A late-2025 Opus release that anchored Anthropic's top tier into 2026.
Why it matters: The baseline many businesses standardized on before the 2026 wave.
We update this weekly as part of the same routine that keeps our tool prices current. We only list genuinely major releases from the labs that move the market — frontier text models, and now video models too — and every stat links to its source. No source, no number. Where a model is announced but not yet reachable through an API, we say so, because a model you cannot buy yet is not a recommendation.
Your plan is a dated snapshot of the market, and the optional monthly subscription re-checks it as these shifts land — so your recommended tools and prices keep describing the market that exists.
