Task guide · coding · 2026
Best AI for coding in 2026
For coding in 2026, pick the model and the editor separately. In this catalog Claude Opus 5 is DeepSWE 74% Pass@1 at $11.84/task; GPT-5.6 Luna is DeepSWE 67% Pass@1 at $3.03/task; Gemini 3.7 Flash is DeepSWE 65% Pass@1 at $2.18/task. Gemini 3.1 Pro is DeepSWE 12% Pass@1 at $2.14/task — do not treat that as a general-quality ranking, but do not pick it for agentic coding. Prices below are standard-tier API rates, last checked per profile.
Last verified:Newest vendor-page check on the models in this table, not today’s calendar date.
| Model | Tier | API price / 1M | DeepSWE | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Claude Opus 5 | Frontier | $5 in / $25 out | 74% · $11.84/task | 1M context · 128K max out |
 GPT-5.6 Sol | Frontier | $5 in / $30 out | 73% · $8.39/task | 1.05M context · 128K max out |
| GPT-5.6 Terra | Balanced | $2 in / $12 out | 70% · $4.95/task | 1.05M context · 128K max out |
| GPT-5.6 Luna | Budget | $0.20 in / $1.20 out | 67% · $3.03/task | 1.05M context · 128K max out |
 Gemini 3.7 Flash | Budget | $0.75 in / $3.75 out | 65% · $2.18/task | 1.05M context · 66K max out |
 DeepSeek V4-Flash | Budget | $0.14 in / $0.28 out | 53% · $0.1/task | 1M context · 384K max out |
Prices are USD per million tokens at standard rates, excluding batch and cache. DeepSeek V4-Flash has a dated pricing note on its profile — confirm the live vendor rate rather than copying a third-party roundup.
When the cheaper one wins
GPT-5.6 Luna is cheaper on output at $1.20 per million tokens against $25 for Claude Opus 5 — about 21×. Use the cheaper tier for classification, extraction, summarisation, and any task where the expensive model’s extra score does not change the accepted output. The expensive one only pays if your hardest task actually fails on the cheap tier. On DeepSWE 1.1, GPT-5.6 Luna is 67% Pass@1 at $3.03/task versus Claude Opus 5 at 74% / $11.84/task. These are standard-tier API rates, excluding batch and cache discounts.
Run the model pickerThe model is not the editor
Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot, and similar products wrap a model. Compare them on harnesses. A CursorBench score does not pick Claude Opus 5 versus GPT-5.6 Luna.
AI Model Picker is a free, no-signup tool that shortlists frontier, balanced, or budget models from live API prices and context windows. If you already know you need an editor or terminal agent, use the coding assistant finder.
How to read DeepSWE here
Pass@1 without cost is how roundups lie. Claude Opus 5 is 74% at $11.84/task. GPT-5.6 Luna is 67% at $3.03/task. The cheaper row wins when the extra points do not change the accepted patch.
Public DeepSWE 1.1 figures are mirrored from Datacurve. Vendor-only scores stay off this table.
Pair compare with the cheaper-wins rule: Claude Opus 5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol. Three-way brands: ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini 2026.
Common questions
Questions about AI for coding
Answered from the verified figures on this page rather than general guidance.
What is the best AI for coding in 2026?
For coding in 2026, pick the model and the editor separately. In this catalog Claude Opus 5 is DeepSWE 74% Pass@1 at $11.84/task; GPT-5.6 Luna is DeepSWE 67% Pass@1 at $3.03/task; Gemini 3.7 Flash is DeepSWE 65% Pass@1 at $2.18/task. Gemini 3.1 Pro is DeepSWE 12% Pass@1 at $2.14/task — do not treat that as a general-quality ranking, but do not pick it for agentic coding. Prices below are standard-tier API rates, last checked per profile. Run the model picker for a shortlist from the same catalog.
Should I choose Cursor or a model?
Those are different products. Cursor, Claude Code, and Copilot are coding harnesses. GPT, Claude, and Gemini APIs are models. Compare harnesses at /ai-harnesses and models here. A high CursorBench score does not pick your API tier.
Which coding model is cheapest in this catalog?
GPT-5.6 Luna is $0.20 in / $1.20 out per million tokens. Claude Opus 5 is $5 / $25. Output tokens usually dominate agent bills, and DeepSWE cost-per-task can invert a cheap token rate. Last catalog check on this shortlist: 2026-08-14.
Is Gemini good at coding?
Gemini 3.7 Flash is Google’s coding/agent Flash row (DeepSWE 65% Pass@1 at $2.18/task). Gemini 3.1 Pro is DeepSWE 12% Pass@1 at $2.14/task. Do not treat the product name “Gemini” as one capability.