Best for / Best free
Best free AI model
"Free" is the most abused word in AI marketing, so this page has a rule: a model only appears here if we verified its £0 route on the vendor's own site — the page, the date, the link. Quality scores come from the same 30-task general suite as the paid models, so you can see exactly what paying would buy you.
updated 11 Aug 2026 · tested by Robert Prime · re-ranks automatically when a new run lands
Scored 92/100 on our best free tests — in a dead heat with GLM 5.2 (92), so either is a fine choice. Free to use via grok.com.
| # | Model | Our score | Sentiment | Free via | API $/1M in·out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grok 4.5latest | 92/100 | — | grok.com | $2 · $6 |
| 2 | GLM 5.2latest | 92/100 | — | chat.z.ai | $0.76 · $1.5356 |
| 3 | Gemini 3.5 Flash | 89/100 | — | Google AI Studio | $1.5 · $9 |
x-ai's newest model, holding about 500k tokens of context — reached through the API or free via grok.com.
Strongest showing: “Cold email” — scored 10/10 by the panel. Weakest: “Long generation” at 5/10. The judges flagged 5 instruction breaches across the run — those scores were capped automatically.
“Meets word limit, friendly tone, clear CTA, no buzzwords; minor placeholder-heavy structure but otherwise strong and professional.”— anthropic/claude-sonnet-5, judging blind · full receipts ↓
30 tasks · 11 Aug 2026 · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gpt-5.6-terra · API $2 in / $6 out per 1M tokens · free via grok.com ↗ (checked 11 Aug 2026) · full model page →
z-ai's newest model, holding about 1049k tokens of context — reached through the API or free via chat.z.ai.
Strongest showing: “Cold email” — scored 10/10 by the panel. Weakest: “Long generation” at 5/10. The judges flagged 4 instruction breaches across the run — those scores were capped automatically.
“Clear, friendly, professional, single CTA, no buzzwords, under 120 words (~99). Minor genericness but well-structured and appropriate for target audience.”— anthropic/claude-sonnet-5, judging blind · full receipts ↓
30 tasks · 11 Aug 2026 · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gpt-5.6-terra · API $0.76 in / $1.5356 out per 1M tokens · free via chat.z.ai ↗ (checked 11 Aug 2026) · full model page →
google's model, holding about 1049k tokens of context — reached through the API or free via Google AI Studio.
Strongest showing: “Cold email” — scored 10/10 by the panel. Weakest: “Medium generation” at 5/10. The judges flagged 7 instruction breaches across the run — those scores were capped automatically.
“Friendly, professional, clear CTA, under 120 words, no buzzwords. Minor genericness but solid, effective cold email.”— anthropic/claude-sonnet-5, judging blind · full receipts ↓
30 tasks · 11 Aug 2026 · judges claude-sonnet-5, gpt-5.6-terra, grok-4.5 · API $1.5 in / $9 out per 1M tokens · free via Google AI Studio ↗ (checked 11 Aug 2026) · full model page →
How this ranking is made
Every model answers the identical published task suite. Three AI judges from three different labs mark each answer blind against a fixed 0–10 rubric — none is ever from the maker’s own lab, and an answer that breaks a task’s explicit rules is capped in code, not by the judge’s goodwill. The score is the average, out of 100.
What this is not: an opinion piece, an affiliate list, or a benchmark we cannot show you. Every score links its raw outputs and judge verdicts. The full protocol · receipts: Grok 4.5, GLM 5.2, Gemini 3.5 Flash
Questions people ask
What is the best free ai model in 2026?
Grok 4.5 leads our tested ranking with 92/100 across 30 best free tasks, in a dead heat with GLM 5.2 (92). Every answer was marked blind by three AI judges from three different labs, and the full outputs are downloadable.
How is this ranking made?
Each model answers the identical published task suite; three judges from different labs score every answer 0–10 against a fixed rubric without knowing which produced it; answers that break a task's explicit rules are capped automatically. The score is the average, out of 100. No vendor pays for placement.
How often does this page update?
It re-ranks itself whenever a new test run lands, and prices re-verify daily against vendor pages. The current ranking was last computed on 11 Aug 2026.
Are these models really free?
Each model on this page carries a verified £0 route: Grok 4.5 via grok.com; GLM 5.2 via chat.z.ai; Gemini 3.5 Flash via Google AI Studio. We confirmed each on the vendor's own site, with the date shown. Models whose free access we could not verify are not listed here.
Is Grok 4.5 free?
Yes — Grok 4.5 can be used at no cost via grok.com, confirmed on 11 Aug 2026.
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