Best LLMs for Creative Writing (Text) - ranked by Elo & price

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Last refresh: 7/18/2026, 4:07:34 AM (12,374 rows)

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All models (151) · Text · Creative Writing

Rank = arena overall rank. Muted rows aren't hosted on OpenRouter or a partner. Gaps in the rank sequence are closed-source or unreleased models we don't track.

Rank	Model	Elo	Value	In / 1M	Output	Votes	Open in
#1	Anthropic: Claude Fable 5 #1·Elo 1512·In $10.00·Out $50.00	1512	1387	$10.00	$50.00	1,631	O
#2	Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.6 (thinking) #2·Elo 1500·In $5.00·Out $25.00	1500	1404	$5.00	$25.00	10,411	O
#3	Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.7 (thinking) #3·Elo 1489·In $5.00·Out $25.00	1489	1393	$5.00	$25.00	8,225	O
#5	Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.7 #5·Elo 1481·In $5.00·Out $25.00	1481	1386	$5.00	$25.00	8,417	O
#6	MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 #6·Elo 1479·In $3.00·Out $15.00	1479	1405	$3.00	$15.00	506	O
#7	Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.6 #7·Elo 1478·In $5.00·Out $25.00	1478	1383	$5.00	$25.00	10,553	O
#9	Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview #9·Elo 1478·In $2.00·Out $12.00	1478	1418	$2.00	$12.00	13,642	O
#10	Google: Gemini 3.5 Flash (medium) #10·Elo 1468·In $1.50·Out $9.00	1468	1421	$1.50	$9.00	2,001	O
#11	Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.5 (thinking-32k) #11·Elo 1468·In $5.00·Out $25.00	1468	1372	$5.00	$25.00	5,539	O
#12	Google: Gemini 3.5 Flash (high) #12·Elo 1464·In $1.50·Out $9.00	1464	1416	$1.50	$9.00	1,509	O
#14	Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.8 (thinking) #14·Elo 1461·In $5.00·Out $25.00	1461	1366	$5.00	$25.00	5,096	O
#15	Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.5 #15·Elo 1461·In $5.00·Out $25.00	1461	1365	$5.00	$25.00	10,982	O
#16	Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.8 #16·Elo 1460·In $5.00·Out $25.00	1460	1365	$5.00	$25.00	5,116	O
#18	Meta: Muse Spark 1.1 #18·Elo 1459·In $1.25·Out $4.25	1459	1433	$1.25	$4.25	1,048	O
#19	Google: Gemini 3 Flash Preview #19·Elo 1458·In $0.500·Out $3.00	1458	1458	$0.500	$3.00	4,681	O
#21	Anthropic: Claude Sonnet 4.5 #21·Elo 1454·In $3.00·Out $15.00	1454	1380	$3.00	$15.00	12,019	O
#22	Z.ai: GLM 5.1 #22·Elo 1453·In $0.966·Out $3.04	1453	1439	$0.966	$3.04	4,899	O
#23	Anthropic: Claude Sonnet 4.6 #23·Elo 1450·In $3.00·Out $15.00	1450	1377	$3.00	$15.00	9,053	O
#26	OpenAI: GPT-5.5 (high) #26·Elo 1448·In $5.00·Out $30.00	1448	1348	$5.00	$30.00	7,559	O
#27	Google: Gemini 3 Flash Preview (thinking-minimal) #27·Elo 1448·In $0.500·Out $3.00	1448	1448	$0.500	$3.00	13,252	O
#28	Anthropic: Claude Sonnet 4.5 (thinking-32k) #28·Elo 1447·In $3.00·Out $15.00	1447	1374	$3.00	$15.00	12,311	O
#29	Z.ai: GLM 5.2 (max) #29·Elo 1447·In $0.413·Out $1.30	1447	1470	$0.413	$1.30	2,804	O
#30	OpenAI: GPT-5.5 #30·Elo 1446·In $5.00·Out $30.00	1446	1346	$5.00	$30.00	7,731	O
#31	Qwen: Qwen3.7 Max #31·Elo 1446·In $1.48·Out $4.42	1446	1414	$1.48	$4.42	481	O
#34	Z.ai: GLM 5 #34·Elo 1445·In $0.950·Out $3.15	1445	1430	$0.950	$3.15	4,519	O
#35	Google: Gemini 2.5 Pro #35·Elo 1444·In $1.25·Out $10.00	1444	1396	$1.25	$10.00	17,398	O
#35	Google: Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 #35·Elo 1444·In $1.25·Out $10.00	1444	1396	$1.25	$10.00	17,398	O
#36	OpenAI: GPT-5.4 (high) #36·Elo 1443·In $2.50·Out $15.00	1443	1373	$2.50	$15.00	9,363	O
#37	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Pro #37·Elo 1443·In $0.435·Out $0.870	1443	1471	$0.435	$0.870	7,011	O
#38	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Pro (thinking) #38·Elo 1442·In $0.435·Out $0.870	1442	1471	$0.435	$0.870	6,747	O
#39	Anthropic: Claude Opus 4.1 #39·Elo 1442·In $15.00·Out $75.00	1442	1299	$15.00	$75.00	10,720	O
#40	Qwen: Qwen3.7 Plus #40·Elo 1439·In $0.320·Out $1.28	1439	1468	$0.320	$1.28	3,436	O
#41	xAI: Grok 4.5 #41·Elo 1438·In $2.00·Out $6.00	1438	1393	$2.00	$6.00	961	O
#43	Qwen: Qwen3.6 Max Preview #43·Elo 1436·In $1.04·Out $6.24	1436	1404	$1.04	$6.24	727	O
#44	Xiaomi: MiMo-V2.5-Pro #44·Elo 1434·In $0.435·Out $0.870	1434	1463	$0.435	$0.870	6,696	O
#45	OpenAI: GPT-5.4 #45·Elo 1433·In $2.50·Out $15.00	1433	1363	$2.50	$15.00	9,585	O
#46	OpenAI: GPT-5.2 Chat #46·Elo 1433·In $1.75·Out $14.00	1433	1370	$1.75	$14.00	5,364	O
#48	MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.6 #48·Elo 1430·In $0.950·Out $4.00	1430	1411	$0.950	$4.00	5,879	O
#50	OpenAI: GPT-5.1 (high) #50·Elo 1430·In $1.25·Out $10.00	1430	1382	$1.25	$10.00	6,042	O
#52	xAI: Grok 4.3 #52·Elo 1428·In $1.25·Out $2.50	1428	1410	$1.25	$2.50	7,443	O
#53	Anthropic: Claude Sonnet 5 (high) #53·Elo 1428·In $2.00·Out $10.00	1428	1372	$2.00	$10.00	1,946	O
#56	MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.5 (thinking) #56·Elo 1425·In $0.570·Out $2.85	1425	1424	$0.570	$2.85	9,529	O
#61	Anthropic: Claude Opus 4 #61·Elo 1417·In $15.00·Out $75.00	1417	1273	$15.00	$75.00	5,479	O
#63	Google: Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite #63·Elo 1412·In $0.250·Out $1.50	1412	1442	$0.250	$1.50	9,849	O
#63	Google: Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview #63·Elo 1412·In $0.250·Out $1.50	1412	1442	$0.250	$1.50	9,849	O
#64	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash #64·Elo 1411·In $0.098·Out $0.196	1411	1504	$0.098	$0.196	6,874	O
#65	OpenAI: GPT-5.1 #65·Elo 1410·In $1.25·Out $10.00	1410	1362	$1.25	$10.00	6,425	O
#67	Qwen: Qwen3.6 Plus #67·Elo 1408·In $0.325·Out $1.95	1408	1427	$0.325	$1.95	6,192	O
#68	Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B #68·Elo 1408·In $0.390·Out $2.34	1408	1419	$0.390	$2.34	8,748	O
#69	MiniMax: MiniMax M3 #69·Elo 1408·In $0.300·Out $1.20	1408	1439	$0.300	$1.20	4,136	O
#70	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus #70·Elo 1407·In $0.270·Out $1.00	1407	1445	$0.270	$1.00	456	O
#71	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash (thinking) #71·Elo 1407·In $0.098·Out $0.196	1407	1500	$0.098	$0.196	6,981	O
#73	OpenAI: GPT-5.3 Chat #73·Elo 1405·In $1.75·Out $14.00	1405	1343	$1.75	$14.00	5,127	O
#74	Z.ai: GLM 4.7 #74·Elo 1405·In $0.400·Out $1.75	1405	1423	$0.400	$1.75	1,916	O
#75	OpenAI: GPT-5.4 Mini (high) #75·Elo 1405·In $0.750·Out $4.50	1405	1387	$0.750	$4.50	9,078	O
#77	OpenAI: GPT-4.1 #77·Elo 1402·In $2.00·Out $8.00	1402	1352	$2.00	$8.00	6,698	O
#78	Z.ai: GLM 4.6 #78·Elo 1402·In $0.500·Out $2.00	1402	1412	$0.500	$2.00	5,086	O
#81	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.2 #81·Elo 1401·In $0.269·Out $0.400	1401	1454	$0.269	$0.400	6,674	O
#81	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.2 Exp #81·Elo 1401·In $0.270·Out $0.410	1401	1453	$0.270	$0.410	6,674	O
#82	Z.ai: GLM 5V Turbo #82·Elo 1400·In $1.20·Out $4.00	1400	1376	$1.20	$4.00	895	O
#84	Thinking Machines: Inkling #84·Elo 1398·In $1.00·Out $4.05	1398	1377	$1.00	$4.05	298	O
#85	Google: Gemini 2.5 Flash #85·Elo 1397·In $0.300·Out $2.50	1397	1410	$0.300	$2.50	17,309	O
#87	Anthropic: Claude Sonnet 4 (thinking-32k) #87·Elo 1396·In $3.00·Out $15.00	1396	1322	$3.00	$15.00	4,313	O
#91	DeepSeek: R1 0528 #91·Elo 1394·In $0.500·Out $2.15	1394	1402	$0.500	$2.15	2,431	O
#92	Qwen: Qwen3 Max #92·Elo 1394·In $0.780·Out $3.90	1394	1379	$0.780	$3.90	3,746	O
#92	Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking #92·Elo 1394·In $0.780·Out $3.90	1394	1379	$0.780	$3.90	3,746	O
#93	Mistral: Mistral Medium 3.5 #93·Elo 1393·In $1.50·Out $7.50	1393	1350	$1.50	$7.50	1,869	O
#95	Xiaomi: MiMo-V2.5 #95·Elo 1392·In $0.140·Out $0.280	1392	1470	$0.140	$0.280	6,751	O
#97	OpenAI: GPT-5 Chat #97·Elo 1391·In $1.25·Out $10.00	1391	1344	$1.25	$10.00	4,009	O
#98	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.2 (thinking) #98·Elo 1391·In $0.269·Out $0.400	1391	1444	$0.269	$0.400	6,193	O
#98	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.2 Exp (thinking) #98·Elo 1391·In $0.270·Out $0.410	1391	1444	$0.270	$0.410	6,193	O
#100	OpenAI: GPT-5.2 #100·Elo 1390·In $1.75·Out $14.00	1390	1328	$1.75	$14.00	12,208	O
#103	Anthropic: Claude Haiku 4.5 #103·Elo 1389·In $1.00·Out $5.00	1389	1364	$1.00	$5.00	16,271	O
#105	OpenAI: GPT-5.2 (high) #105·Elo 1388·In $1.75·Out $14.00	1388	1326	$1.75	$14.00	7,388	O
#107	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus (thinking) #107·Elo 1385·In $0.270·Out $1.00	1385	1423	$0.270	$1.00	438	O
#108	Anthropic: Claude Sonnet 4 #108·Elo 1384·In $3.00·Out $15.00	1384	1311	$3.00	$15.00	4,994	O
#109	OpenAI: o3 #109·Elo 1383·In $2.00·Out $8.00	1383	1333	$2.00	$8.00	7,705	O
#111	MoonshotAI: Kimi K2 0905 #111·Elo 1382·In $0.600·Out $2.50	1382	1383	$0.600	$2.50	1,500	O
#121	OpenAI: GPT-5 (high) #121·Elo 1375·In $1.25·Out $10.00	1375	1327	$1.25	$10.00	4,245	O
#122	DeepSeek: R1 #122·Elo 1374·In $0.700·Out $2.50	1374	1372	$0.700	$2.50	3,289	O
#123	Qwen: Qwen3 235B A22B Thinking 2507 #123·Elo 1374·In $0.150·Out $1.50	1374	1411	$0.150	$1.50	1,077	O
#124	Z.ai: GLM 4.5 #124·Elo 1373·In $0.600·Out $2.20	1373	1377	$0.600	$2.20	3,127	O
#129	Qwen: Qwen3.5-122B-A10B #129·Elo 1367·In $0.260·Out $2.08	1367	1387	$0.260	$2.08	4,349	O
#130	OpenAI: o1 #130·Elo 1365·In $15.00·Out $60.00	1365	1227	$15.00	$60.00	4,508	O
#133	MiniMax: MiniMax M2.7 #133·Elo 1364·In $0.250·Out $1.00	1364	1404	$0.250	$1.00	7,347	O
#135	Qwen: Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct #135·Elo 1361·In $0.210·Out $1.90	1361	1388	$0.210	$1.90	1,381	O
#138	MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 #138·Elo 1358·In $0.150·Out $0.900	1358	1410	$0.150	$0.900	6,403	O
#139	Qwen: Qwen3.5-27B #139·Elo 1358·In $0.260·Out $2.60	1358	1372	$0.260	$2.60	4,078	O
#144	Arcee AI: Trinity Large Thinking #144·Elo 1350·In $0.250·Out $0.800	1350	1395	$0.250	$0.800	4,596	O
#145	OpenAI: GPT-4.1 Mini #145·Elo 1350·In $0.400·Out $1.60	1350	1369	$0.400	$1.60	5,151	O
#147	Google: Gemma 3 27B #147·Elo 1348·In $0.100·Out $0.300	1348	1433	$0.100	$0.300	6,390	O
#148	StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash #148·Elo 1347·In $0.100·Out $0.300	1347	1432	$0.100	$0.300	8,569	O
#149	MiniMax: MiniMax M2.1 #149·Elo 1346·In $0.300·Out $1.20	1346	1378	$0.300	$1.20	2,706	O
#152	Z.ai: GLM 4.6V #152·Elo 1344·In $0.300·Out $0.900	1344	1382	$0.300	$0.900	417	O
#153	Qwen: Qwen3.5-35B-A3B #153·Elo 1344·In $0.140·Out $1.00	1344	1395	$0.140	$1.00	4,477	O
#158	OpenAI: o4 Mini #158·Elo 1338·In $1.10·Out $4.40	1338	1313	$1.10	$4.40	5,834	O
#158	OpenAI: o4 Mini High #158·Elo 1338·In $1.10·Out $4.40	1338	1313	$1.10	$4.40	5,834	O
#159	Qwen: Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking (thinking) #159·Elo 1338·In $0.260·Out $2.60	1338	1352	$0.260	$2.60	1,029	O
#160	OpenAI: GPT-5.4 Nano (high) #160·Elo 1337·In $0.200·Out $1.25	1337	1376	$0.200	$1.25	8,814	O
#165	Arcee AI: Trinity Large Thinking (thinking) #165·Elo 1335·In $0.250·Out $0.800	1335	1379	$0.250	$0.800	4,574	O
#167	Google: Gemma 3 12B #167·Elo 1334·In $0.050·Out $0.150	1334	1449	$0.050	$0.150	600	O
#171	Z.ai: GLM 4.5 Air #171·Elo 1328·In $0.130·Out $0.850	1328	1384	$0.130	$0.850	4,017	O
#172	OpenAI: GPT-4o #172·Elo 1327·In $2.50·Out $10.00	1327	1266	$2.50	$10.00	6,756	O
#172	OpenAI: GPT-4o (2024-05-13) #172·Elo 1327·In $5.00·Out $15.00	1327	1242	$5.00	$15.00	6,756	O
#172	OpenAI: GPT-4o (2024-08-06) #172·Elo 1327·In $2.50·Out $10.00	1327	1266	$2.50	$10.00	6,756	O
#172	OpenAI: GPT-4o (2024-11-20) #172·Elo 1327·In $2.50·Out $10.00	1327	1266	$2.50	$10.00	6,756	O
#173	OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (high) #173·Elo 1325·In $0.250·Out $2.00	1325	1348	$0.250	$2.00	3,555	O
#175	Qwen: Qwen3 235B A22B #175·Elo 1323·In $0.455·Out $1.82	1323	1337	$0.455	$1.82	3,576	O
#176	Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking (thinking) #176·Elo 1323·In $0.098·Out $0.780	1323	1386	$0.098	$0.780	1,791	O
#178	OpenAI: GPT-4 Turbo #178·Elo 1323·In $10.00·Out $30.00	1323	1208	$10.00	$30.00	14,396	O
#178	OpenAI: GPT-4 Turbo Preview #178·Elo 1323·In $10.00·Out $30.00	1323	1208	$10.00	$30.00	14,396	O
#179	Qwen: Qwen3 30B A3B Instruct 2507 #179·Elo 1321·In $0.100·Out $0.300	1321	1406	$0.100	$0.300	2,982	O
#180	MiniMax: MiniMax M1 #180·Elo 1318·In $0.550·Out $2.20	1318	1323	$0.550	$2.20	4,537	O
#184	Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct #184·Elo 1316·In $0.100·Out $1.10	1316	1368	$0.100	$1.10	3,028	O
#184	Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) #184·Elo 1316·Out -	1316	-	-	-	3,028	O
#185	Z.ai: GLM 4.7 Flash #185·Elo 1312·In $0.061·Out $0.400	1312	1402	$0.061	$0.400	1,809	O
#186	OpenAI: o3 Mini (high) #186·Elo 1312·In $1.10·Out $4.40	1312	1287	$1.10	$4.40	3,065	O
#186	OpenAI: o3 Mini High (high) #186·Elo 1312·In $1.10·Out $4.40	1312	1287	$1.10	$4.40	3,065	O
#188	Z.ai: GLM 4.5V #188·Elo 1310·In $0.600·Out $1.80	1310	1318	$0.600	$1.80	639	O
#193	OpenAI: GPT-4.1 Nano #193·Elo 1307·In $0.100·Out $0.400	1307	1386	$0.100	$0.400	1,005	O
#194	Qwen: Qwen3 32B #194·Elo 1305·In $0.080·Out $0.280	1305	1397	$0.080	$0.280	616	O
#204	OpenAI: o3 Mini #204·Elo 1301·In $1.10·Out $4.40	1301	1276	$1.10	$4.40	8,182	O
#204	OpenAI: o3 Mini High #204·Elo 1301·In $1.10·Out $4.40	1301	1276	$1.10	$4.40	8,182	O
#205	Google: Gemma 3n 4B #205·Elo 1300·In $0.060·Out $0.120	1300	1414	$0.060	$0.120	2,879	O
#206	Inception: Mercury 2 #206·Elo 1299·In $0.250·Out $0.750	1299	1345	$0.250	$0.750	528	O
#212	OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini #212·Elo 1294·In $0.150·Out $0.600	1294	1356	$0.150	$0.600	10,484	O
#212	OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini (2024-07-18) #212·Elo 1294·In $0.150·Out $0.600	1294	1356	$0.150	$0.600	10,484	O
#213	Google: Gemma 2 27B #213·Elo 1292·In $0.650·Out $0.650	1292	1311	$0.650	$0.650	11,429	O
#218	MiniMax: MiniMax M2 #218·Elo 1288·In $0.255·Out $1.02	1288	1326	$0.255	$1.02	897	O
#220	Mistral Large 2407 #220·Elo 1287·In $2.00·Out $6.00	1287	1242	$2.00	$6.00	6,692	O
#221	Meta: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct #221·Elo 1286·In $0.130·Out $0.400	1286	1360	$0.130	$0.400	8,063	O
#221	Meta: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct (free) #221·Elo 1286·Out -	1286	-	-	-	8,063	O
#225	Qwen: Qwen3 30B A3B #225·Elo 1284·In $0.130·Out $0.520	1284	1352	$0.130	$0.520	3,365	O
#231	OpenAI: gpt-oss-120b #231·Elo 1278·In $0.037·Out $0.170	1278	1397	$0.037	$0.170	3,950	O
#235	Google: Gemma 3 4B #235·Elo 1276·In $0.050·Out $0.100	1276	1398	$0.050	$0.100	666	O
#243	IBM: Granite 4.1 8B #243·Elo 1266·In $0.050·Out $0.100	1266	1388	$0.050	$0.100	666	O
#247	Cohere: Command R+ (08-2024) #247·Elo 1263·In $2.50·Out $10.00	1263	1203	$2.50	$10.00	1,474	O
#248	AllenAI: Olmo 3 32B Think #248·Elo 1263·In $0.150·Out $0.500	1263	1328	$0.150	$0.500	868	O
#253	Meta: Llama 3.1 70B Instruct #253·Elo 1257·In $0.400·Out $0.400	1257	1297	$0.400	$0.400	8,250	O
#259	OpenAI: GPT-5 Nano (high) #259·Elo 1248·In $0.050·Out $0.400	1248	1340	$0.050	$0.400	914	O
#266	OpenAI: gpt-oss-20b #266·Elo 1238·In $0.030·Out $0.130	1238	1368	$0.030	$0.130	1,243	O
#266	OpenAI: gpt-oss-20b (free) #266·Elo 1238·Out -	1238	-	-	-	1,243	O
#272	Mistral: Mistral Small 3 #272·Elo 1227·In $0.050·Out $0.080	1227	1352	$0.050	$0.080	2,415	O
#278	Anthropic: Claude 3 Haiku #278·Elo 1215·In $0.250·Out $1.25	1215	1250	$0.250	$1.25	16,718	O
#281	Microsoft: Phi 4 #281·Elo 1210·In $0.070·Out $0.140	1210	1318	$0.070	$0.140	4,062	O
#282	Cohere: Command R (08-2024) #282·Elo 1209·In $0.150·Out $0.600	1209	1271	$0.150	$0.600	1,421	O
#299	Google Gemini Pro Latest #299·Elo 1184·In $2.00·Out $12.00	1184	1124	$2.00	$12.00	953	O
#302	Meta: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct #302·Elo 1177·In $0.050·Out $0.080	1177	1303	$0.050	$0.080	7,346	O
#319	Meta: Llama 3.2 3B Instruct #319·Elo 1144·In $0.051·Out $0.335	1144	1241	$0.051	$0.335	1,070	O
#319	Meta: Llama 3.2 3B Instruct (free) #319·Elo 1144·Out -	1144	-	-	-	1,070	O
#355	Meta: Llama 3.2 1B Instruct #355·Elo 1082·In $0.027·Out $0.201	1082	1203	$0.027	$0.201	1,091	O