Should I use an open-source LLM for coding?

There are 8 open-weight models available for coding. Open-weight LLMs like Llama and Mistral can be self-hosted for lower per-token costs at scale, but require infrastructure investment. For lower volumes, API-based providers often offer better value.

10 Best LLMs for Coding in 2026

Q: What is the cheapest LLM for coding?

The cheapest LLM suitable for coding is DeepSeek R1 0528 Qwen3 8B via Novita AI at $0.068 per million tokens (blended rate). There are 148 models in this category.

The 10 best LLMs for coding in 2026, ranked by Arena ELO and price. Compare Claude, GPT, Gemini, and open-weight models for code generation, debugging, and refactoring across 23+ providers.

148

Models Compared

$0.068

Cheapest

1358

Top ELO

148

ELO-Rated

What is the best LLM for coding?

The best LLM for coding is DeepSeek R1 0528 Qwen3 8B via Novita AI at $0.068 per million tokens. With an Arena ELO of 1358, it offers the best balance of quality and cost. 148 models are compared across all providers.

What Makes a Good LLM for Coding?

High Arena ELO for reasoning accuracy

Strong code completion and generation

Multi-language support (Python, TypeScript, Rust, Go)

Long context windows for large codebases

Coding Models — Ranked by Value

148 models

Sorted by value: models with higher Arena ELO and lower price rank first. Models without ELO scores are sorted by cheapest price.

#	Model	Provider	Input	Output	Quality	Released↓
12	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.2 Exp Open	Deepinfra	$0.210	$0.320	Frontier	Dec 1
16	DeepSeek V3.2	Deepinfra	$0.260	$0.380	Frontier	Dec 1
33	DeepSeek V3.2 Speciale	OpenRouter	$0.480	$1.44	Frontier	Dec 1
45	accounts/fireworks/models/deepseek-v3p2	Fireworks AI	$0.560	$1.68	Frontier	Dec 1
31	GPT 5.1 Codex Mini	OpenAI	$0.250	$2.00	Frontier	Nov 13
34	GPT 5 Mini	Replicate	$0.250	$2.00	Frontier	Aug 7
28	Nex AGI: DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1	OpenRouter	$0.324	$1.20	Frontier	Jun 1
1	DeepSeek R1 0528 Qwen3 8B	Novita AI	$0.060	$0.090	Frontier	May 28
9	DeepSeek R1 0528 Distill Qwen3 8B	Fireworks AI	$0.200	$0.200	Frontier	May 28
19	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus Open	Deepinfra	$0.210	$0.790	Frontier	May 28
20	DeepSeek V3.1	Deepinfra	$0.210	$0.790	Frontier	May 28
24	DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus (exacto) Open	OpenRouter	$0.252	$0.948	Frontier	May 28
46	accounts/fireworks/models/deepseek-v3p1	Fireworks AI	$0.560	$1.68	Frontier	May 28
48	DeepSeek: R1 0528 Open	Deepinfra	$0.500	$2.15	Frontier	May 28
36	mistral-large-3	Azure OpenAI	$0.500	$1.50	Frontier	May 7
13	Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 04 17	Google	$0.150	$0.600	Frontier	Apr 17
37	Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05 20	Google	$0.300	$2.50	Frontier	Apr 17
38	Google: Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana)	Google	$0.300	$2.50	Frontier	Apr 17
39	Gemini 2.5 Flash Native Audio Preview 12 2025	Google	$0.300	$2.50	Frontier	Apr 17
40	Gemini 2.5 Flash Native Audio Latest	Google	$0.300	$2.50	Frontier	Apr 17
41	Google: Gemini 2.5 Flash	Deepinfra	$0.300	$2.50	Frontier	Apr 17
42	Gemini 2.5 Flash Native Audio Preview 09 2025	Google	$0.300	$2.50	Frontier	Apr 17
43	Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 09 2025	Google	$0.300	$2.50	Frontier	Apr 17
44	Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview TTS	Google	$0.300	$2.50	Frontier	Apr 17
4	Llama 4 Scout 17B 16e Instruct	Deepinfra	$0.080	$0.300	Frontier	Apr 5
15	Llama 4 Maverick 17B 128e Instruct Fp8	Deepinfra	$0.150	$0.600	Frontier	Apr 5
17	Llama 4 Maverick 17B 128E Instruct	Groq	$0.200	$0.600	Frontier	Apr 5
21	Grok 3 Mini Latest	xAI	$0.300	$0.500	Frontier	Feb 17
22	Grok 3 Mini	xAI	$0.300	$0.500	Frontier	Feb 17
23	Grok 3 Mini Beta	xAI	$0.300	$0.500	Frontier	Feb 17
2	DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5b	Fireworks AI	$0.100	$0.100	Frontier	Jan 20
5	DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B	Novita AI	$0.150	$0.150	Frontier	Jan 20
10	DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B	Fireworks AI	$0.200	$0.200	Frontier	Jan 20
11	DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 7B	Fireworks AI	$0.200	$0.200	Frontier	Jan 20
14	DeepSeek: R1 Distill Qwen 32B 32BOpen	Deepinfra	$0.270	$0.270	Frontier	Jan 20
26	TNG: DeepSeek R1T2 Chimera	OpenRouter	$0.300	$1.02	Frontier	Jan 20
32	DeepSeek: R1 Distill Llama 70B 70BOpen	Deepinfra	$0.700	$0.800	Frontier	Jan 20
49	DeepSeek R1 Basic	Fireworks AI	$0.550	$2.19	Frontier	Jan 20
50	DeepSeek R1	DeepSeek	$0.550	$2.19	Frontier	Jan 20
18	DeepSeek V3 0324	Deepinfra	$0.200	$0.770	Frontier	Dec 26
25	DeepSeek V3	Deepinfra	$0.320	$0.890	Frontier	Dec 26
6	Gemini 2.0 Flash Preview Image Generation	Google	$0.100	$0.400	Frontier	Dec 11
7	Gemini 2.0 Flash	Google	$0.100	$0.400	Frontier	Dec 11
8	Google: Gemini 2.0 Flash	Google	$0.100	$0.400	Frontier	Dec 11
30	Gemini 2.0 Flash Live 001	Google	$0.350	$1.50	Frontier	Dec 11
3	accounts/fireworks/models/llama-v3p1-405b-instruct-long	Fireworks AI	$0.100	$0.100	Frontier	Jul 23
47	Meta Llama 3.1 405B Instruct 405B	Deepinfra	$0.800	$0.800	Frontier	Jul 23
35	Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct	AWS Bedrock	$0.500	$1.50	Frontier	Feb 26
27	meta-llama/Llama-4-Maverick-17B-128E-Instruct-Turbo	Deepinfra	$0.500	$0.500	Frontier	Feb 23
29	deepseek/deepseek-v3-turbo	Novita AI	$0.400	$1.30	Frontier	Feb 23

Best LLM for Other Use Cases

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Frequently Asked Questions

The #1 LLM for coding in 2026 is DeepSeek R1 0528 Qwen3 8B via Novita AI at $0.068 per million tokens. It has an Arena ELO of 1358, placing it among the highest-rated models. This top-10 ranking considers both quality (Arena ELO) and cost to find the best value across 23+ providers.