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Best LLM for Reasoning

6 models ranked for reasoning tasks. Sorted by benchmark quality score, with price as a secondary factor.

Best Quality
o3
OpenAI
ELO 1380
Cheapest Option
DeepSeek V3
DeepSeek
$0.27/1M/1M input

All Models for Reasoning

#ModelProviderInput / 1MOutput / 1MELOFlags
🥇o3OpenAI$10.00/1M$40.00/1M1380
🥈DeepSeek R1DeepSeek$0.55/1M$2.19/1M1360
OSS
🥉o1OpenAI$15.00/1M$60.00/1M1350
4DeepSeek V3DeepSeek$0.27/1M$1.10/1M1320
OSS
5Claude Sonnet 4.6Anthropic$3.00/1M$15.00/1M1310
6Llama 3.1 405BMeta$2.70/1M$2.70/1M1267
OSS

Why We Picked These Models

o3
$10.00/1M/1MELO 1380

o3 is OpenAI's most capable reasoning model, achieving state-of-the-art scores on ARC-AGI and math benchmarks. Highest reasoning benchmark scores of any model.

DeepSeek R1
$0.55/1M/1MELO 1360

DeepSeek R1 is an open-source reasoning model that matches OpenAI o1 on math and coding benchmarks at roughly 1/20th the price. o1-level reasoning at 20x lower cost than OpenAI o1.

o1
$15.00/1M/1MELO 1350

o1 is OpenAI's reasoning model that uses extended chain-of-thought to solve hard problems. Best-in-class reasoning on complex problems.

Compare Top Models

o3 vs DeepSeek R1o3 vs o1o3 vs DeepSeek V3o3 vs Claude Sonnet 4.6

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best LLM for reasoning?

o3 by OpenAI is rated as the best model for reasoning with an ELO score of 1380. Highest reasoning benchmark scores of any model.

What is the cheapest LLM for reasoning?

DeepSeek V3 is the most affordable option for reasoning at $0.27/1M per 1M input tokens.

Is there a free LLM for reasoning?

No completely free models are listed for reasoning, but DeepSeek V3 start at very low prices.