Models
Reading a model
What the numbers on a catalog entry mean, and how to pick a model for the job.
Every model behind the gateway is listed on the models page and at GET /v1/catalog with its id, its lab, its context window, its price per million tokens in and out, and what it accepts. This page explains how to read that entry. The catalog itself is on The catalog.
How to choose
Start from the task, not the leaderboard. Then let the gateway handle the provider.
| If you are doing | Reach for |
|---|---|
| Writing or reasoning about code | a strong instruct model, or a reasoning model for a hard multi-file change |
| Math, proofs, hard multi-step problems | a reasoning model that thinks before it answers |
| Drafting, editing and conversation | a well-rounded instruct model |
| Summaries, extraction, classification at volume | a small, fast instruct model. The price gap is large and the quality gap usually is not |
| Reading images or documents | a model whose entry lists vision |
| Inline autocomplete | a small, fast code model |
If you would rather not choose, send beta-auto and the gateway picks per request. See Routing.
Fig. 01price and intelligence
What a point of intelligence costs
The stepped line joins the models no other model beats on both price and score. Up and to the left is better.
Intelligence: Artificial Analysis, Oct 2026. Price: the gateway’s blended rate. Interactive on /models.
The four numbers
- context window
- How many tokens the model can hold at once, prompt and answer together. A request that exceeds it is refused before anything is billed.
- price
- Per million tokens, in and out, as published in the catalog. The receipt on every response tells you what a call actually cost.
- intelligence
- A published benchmark score. The ledger uses the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, a composite of several evals. Treat it as a guide, not a guarantee.
- speed
- Tokens per second while the answer streams. It varies by provider, which is one of the things the gateway takes into account when it picks one.
Instruct and reasoning
An instruct model follows instructions, holds a conversation and uses tools. A model listed with no qualifier is instruct, and it is the right default. A reasoning model works through the problem before it answers. That pays off on math, logic and difficult code, and is wasted on a one-line question. Many entries offer both, and on the gateway you set the reasoning effort per request.
| Tuning | Reach for it when | The name shows |
|---|---|---|
| Instruct | almost everything: chat, code, tasks, tools | no suffix · -Instruct · -it |
| Reasoning | math, proofs, logic, hard multi-step problems | -thinking · R1 · a reasoning effort setting |
| Base | raw completion only. Not for chat | -base |