Reasoning AI models: they think before answering, and bill for it

Reasoning

Services found: 169

#	AI model	API $/1M (in / out)	Context window	Price / mo	Output $/1M	Overview
81	Phi-4 Mini Instruct Microsoft	$0.075 / $0.30	131.1K tokens	API only	0.3	View
82	Phi-4 Reasoning Microsoft		32.8K tokens	API only		View
83	Phi-4 Mini Reasoning Microsoft		128K tokens	API only		View
84	Qwen3.8 Max Alibaba	$2 / $6	1M tokens	API only	6	View
85	Qwen3 VL Plus Alibaba	$0.2 / $1.6	256K tokens	API only	1.6	View
86	Qwen3 VL Flash Alibaba	$0.05 / $0.4	256K tokens	API only	0.4	View
87	ERNIE 5.1 Baidu	$0.56 / $2.53		API only	2.53	View
88	ERNIE 5.0 Baidu	$1.4 / $5.6	119K tokens	API only	5.6	View
89	ERNIE 4.5 Turbo VL Baidu		128K tokens	API only		View
90	Doubao Seed Evolving ByteDance			API only		View
91	Doubao Seed 2.1 Turbo ByteDance			API only		View
92	Doubao Seed 2.0 Code ByteDance			API only		View
93	Doubao Seed 2.0 Lite ByteDance			API only		View
94	Doubao Seed 2.0 Mini ByteDance			API only		View
95	Doubao Seed Vision ByteDance			API only		View
96	GLM 5.2 Z.ai	$0.966 / $3.036	1.05M tokens	API only	3.036	View
97	Solar Pro 4 Upstage	$0.30 / $1.20	524.3K tokens	API only	1.2	View
98	GPT-5.6 Luna Pro OpenAI	$0.2 / $1.2	1.05M tokens	API only	1.2	View
99	Qwen3.7 Flash Qwen	$0.03 / $0.13	1M tokens	API only	0.13	View
100	Qwen3.8 Flash Qwen	$0.15 / $0.47	1M tokens	API only	0.47	View

Browse by need

Reasoning models169 models

Coding assistants17 models

Vision and images156 models

Long context 1M+82 models

Free tier available80 models

Open weights88 models

A reasoning model works through a problem before it answers, generating hidden thinking tokens along the way. Those tokens bill as output, which is why reasoning costs more than plain generation and why the price spread here - $0.25 to $50 per million - matters more than it looks.

169 models expose reasoning, including every current flagship: Claude Fable 5.1, GPT-6 Astra, Claude Opus 5. Use them for maths, multi-step analysis and code review. For lighter tasks a reasoning model is an expensive way to be slow. Filter for Adjustable thinking as well - 72 models let you cap how long the model deliberates.

Thinking bills as outputThe hidden deliberation is charged at the output rate, which is why the same prompt costs more here.

Depth is adjustableMost current reasoning models let you cap how long they think, turning quality into a dial.

Not always betterOn extraction and classification a reasoning model is slower and dearer for identical results.

Models with this capability

The 169 models below all support this capability. Prices are input and output per 1M tokens from the vendor official price list; for dirhams multiply by 3.6725. Tap a card to open the model page.

Claude Fable 5.1

Anthropic

in $10out $501M tokens

GPT-6 Astra

OpenAI

in $10out $501.05M tokens

GPT-6.1 Sol

OpenAI

in $2out $101.05M tokens

GPT-6 Sol

OpenAI

in $2out $101.05M tokens

GPT-6 Luna

OpenAI

in $0.1out $0.51.05M tokens

Claude Opus 5.5

Anthropic

in $4out $201M tokens

Claude Sonnet 5.5

Anthropic

in $2out $101M tokens

Grok 4.7

xAI

in $2out $6500K tokens

How to choose

Use reasoning where the first plausible answer is often wrong: maths, analysis, code review, planning.
Prefer models with an adjustable depth control so you can tune cost per task.
Watch output limits — deliberation plus answer can hit the max output ceiling on long tasks.
Compare on your own hard cases, not on benchmark scores.

Common mistakes

Leaving thinking on maximumDefault depth is rarely optimal. Most tasks finish just as well at a lower setting.

Using reasoning for formattingReshaping text into JSON needs structured output, not deliberation.

Who this suits

AnalystsMulti-step financial and legal reasoning where a missed condition is expensive.

Engineering teamsCode review, migration planning and debugging across many files.

Research workSynthesis across conflicting sources, where the model must weigh rather than summarise.

Related filters

Adjustable thinking79 models with a reasoning depth dial

Frontier tier41 flagship models, the best each vendor sells

Code execution47 models that run code in a sandbox

Tool calling166 models that call your functions

All 239 modelsThe full rating with filters and prices

Frequently asked questions

Why do reasoning models cost more?

They generate hidden thinking tokens before the visible answer, and those tokens bill at the output rate. A hard question can produce several times more billed tokens than its answer suggests.

Can I limit how much a model thinks?

Yes on 72 of them. Claude, Grok, Qwen3 and DeepSeek V4 expose a depth control; DeepSeek switches thinking off entirely.

When is reasoning not worth it?

Classification, routing, extraction and summarising short text. A fast model does these as well for a tenth of the price.

Do reasoning tokens appear in the response?

No — you pay for them but do not see them. Some vendors expose a summary of the reasoning instead.

Is a reasoning model slower?

Noticeably. Expect seconds rather than milliseconds, which rules it out of autocomplete-style features.

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Reasoning AI models: they think before answering, and bill for it

Browse by need

Models with this capability

How to choose

Common mistakes

Who this suits

Related filters

Frequently asked questions

Why do reasoning models cost more?

Can I limit how much a model thinks?

When is reasoning not worth it?

Do reasoning tokens appear in the response?

Is a reasoning model slower?

Frequently searched