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Which AI
Ranking · 4 plans · updated 28 Sept 2026

Best provider to build on

The best provider to build on, priced against a fixed reference workload so token costs are comparable.

WeightingIntelligence 30%Capacity 12%Features 16%Value 17%Reliability 10%Sentiment 15%Why these?
4 of 4 plans
  • 1
    OpenAI API
    Pay-per-token API access
    68.6Good
    —
    /month
    —
    Score breakdown
    Intelligence
    80
    Capacity
    88
    Features
    100
    Value
    5
    Reliability
    not counted
    Sentiment
    69
    High confidence
    Why it scores well
    • Access to the strongest models we track — Epoch Capabilities Index 166.6 ECI (OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra)
    • Broad feature coverage for this category — Includes tool calling, structured output, prompt caching
    Where it loses points
    • Expensive for what you actually get — Top-tier models and features for $200/month
  • 2
    xAI API
    Pay-per-token API access
    63.1Mixed
    —
    /month
    —
  • 3
    Anthropic API
    Pay-per-token API access
    62.7Mixed
    —
    /month
    —
  • 4
    Gemini API
    Pay-per-token API access
    60.9Mixed
    —
    /month
    —

Listed, not ranked

Either the provider has closed the plan to new subscribers, or we have no independent benchmark for any model it includes — usually because the provider does not say which model you get. Rather than rank them on a guess or recommend something you cannot buy, we list them with their price and source.