There is no single best model — match it to the job. Claude (Anthropic) is the common choice for coding and agents; GPT (OpenAI) is the broad general-purpose reasoner with the widest tooling ecosystem; Gemini (Google) leads on price-performance, context length and multimodal. This guide gives the honest positioning plus the hard price facts — all three on Kunavo, callable from one key.
Price comparison (Kunavo rates)
Rates are per 1M tokens, in USD, as billed on Kunavo (under each provider's list, varying by model). Rows are equivalent tiers so you can compare like for like.
| Tier | Gemini (Google) | Claude (Anthropic) | GPT (OpenAI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest capable (in / out) | gemini-2-5-flash$0.09 / $0.75 | claude-haiku-4-5$0.40 / $2.00 | gpt-5-6-luna$0.07 / $0.42 |
| Balanced (in / out) | gemini-3-7-flash$0.525 / $2.625 | claude-sonnet-5$2.00 / $10.00 | gpt-5-6-terra$0.70 / $4.20 |
| Heavy reasoning, value (in / out) | gemini-3-1-pro$0.70 / $4.20 | claude-opus-5$2.00 / $10.00 | gpt-5-5$2.00 / $12.00 |
| Newest flagship (in / out) | gemini-3-1-pro$0.70 / $4.20 | claude-fable-5$7.00 / $35.00 | gpt-5-6-sol$2.00 / $12.00 |
Gemini 3.1 Pro is Google's flagship tier here and represents them in both top rows at $0.70 / $4.20 per 1M — against a $2.00 / $12.00 list, about 65% under. The Flash shelf is where Google's newest work lands: gemini-3-7-flash at $0.525 / $2.625 is the most recent release, with gemini-3-6-flash still live at $1.05 / $5.25. Claude Opus 5 is the value pick at the top end: Anthropic lists it at $5.00 / $25.00 per 1M — half of Fable 5's $10.00 / $50.00 — for near-flagship reasoning, and on Kunavo it is $2.00 / $10.00, about 60% under list. GPT-5.6 Sol, OpenAI's newest flagship (top-tier reasoning and agentic coding, 1.05M context), lists at the same $5.00 / $30.00 as GPT-5.5, so both land at $2.00 / $12.00 here. Claude's previous generation stays available too — Sonnet 4.6 at $1.20 / $6.00 is the budget coder, and Opus 4.7 runs at $2.00 / $10.00, the same rate as Opus 5. Live rates are always on the pricing page. Per-provider detail is in the Claude, Gemini and GPT pricing guides.
What each is chosen for
Reputations, not benchmarks — the reason teams reach for each. Always validate on your own task.
- Claude (Anthropic) — coding and agentic workflows, careful instruction-following, long-form writing, and tool use. The 2026 Claude 5 family adds Fable 5.1 (Anthropic's most capable model, for frontier reasoning and long-horizon agents, and the September 2026 successor to Fable 5 at the same price), Opus 5 (near-flagship reasoning at half of Fable 5's list price) and Sonnet 5 (near-Opus coding at Sonnet cost). Adds the native Messages API and prompt caching (cached input at 10% of the input rate).
- GPT (OpenAI) — broad general-purpose reasoning, the largest ecosystem and tooling familiarity, strong function calling, and a code-tuned Codex variant. GPT-5.6 Sol is the newest flagship: top-tier reasoning and agentic coding with a 1.05M-token context window, at the same list price as GPT-5.5.
- Gemini (Google) — best price-performance, very large context windows, and strong multimodal (vision). Gemini 2.5 Flash is the cheapest capable tier across the three.
Which should I use?
| If you need… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest high-volume calls | gemini-2-5-flash | Lowest per-token rate of any capable model here. |
| Coding & agents | claude-sonnet-5 | Newest Sonnet — near-Opus coding; Sonnet 4.6 stays the budget pick. |
| Hard reasoning without frontier prices | claude-opus-5 | Near-flagship Opus reasoning at half of Fable 5's list price — the value pick of the Claude 5 family. |
| Frontier reasoning & agents | claude-fable-5 | Anthropic's most capable model for the hardest long-horizon work. claude-fable-5 is the previous release, same price. |
| OpenAI's newest flagship | gpt-5-6-sol | Top-tier reasoning and agentic coding, 1.05M context, at GPT-5.5 prices. |
| General reasoning + ecosystem | gpt-5-6-terra | Broad general-purpose quality and tooling familiarity. |
| Long context / vision / value | gemini-3-1-pro | Google's flagship tier — long-context and cross-modal analysis at a low price. |
The cost-optimal pattern is to route by difficulty: send the easy 80% to a cheap tier (Flash or Mini), escalate the hard 20% to Sonnet 5, Opus 5, Fable 5 or GPT-5.6 Sol only when a check fails. See the AI cost optimization guide for the routing pattern in code.
Call all three from one API
You don't have to commit. Kunavo is OpenAI-compatible, so one sk-kn- key reaches Claude, GPT and Gemini — change only the model slug to switch. That makes head-to-head testing on your own task a one-line change, billed once via Stripe below each provider's list depending on the model. See the AI gateway guide for the pattern and the quickstart to start.
FAQ
Which is best: Claude, GPT or Gemini?
There is no single winner — match the model to the job. Claude (Anthropic) is the common pick for coding and agentic workflows and careful instruction-following. GPT (OpenAI) is a strong general-purpose reasoner with the widest tooling ecosystem. Gemini (Google) offers the best price-performance, very large context windows and strong multimodal. On Kunavo you can call all three with one key and route per task.
Which is cheapest: Claude, GPT or Gemini?
Gemini 2.5 Flash is the cheapest capable tier on Kunavo at $0.09 input / $0.75 output per 1M tokens. GPT-5.6 Luna is $0.07 / $0.42 and Claude Haiku 4.5 is $0.40 / $2.00. For high-volume simple work, Gemini Flash usually wins on cost.
Is Claude or GPT better for coding?
Claude (Sonnet 5, Opus 5 and the frontier Fable 5) has a strong reputation for coding and agentic tasks, and OpenAI's newest flagship GPT-5.6 Sol is tuned for agentic coding. Both are capable — the honest answer is to A/B them on your own codebase. Kunavo lets you swap between claude-sonnet-5, gpt-5-6-sol, gpt-5-6-sol and others by changing one string.
Which are the newest flagship models from Claude, GPT and Gemini?
Anthropic's current top tier is Claude Fable 5 ($7.00 / $35.00 per 1M on Kunavo, list $10.00 / $50.00) with Claude Opus 5 as the value flagship at $2.00 / $10.00 (list $5.00 / $25.00, half of Fable 5). OpenAI's newest is GPT-5.6 Sol — top-tier reasoning and agentic coding with 1.05M context — at $2.00 / $12.00 on Kunavo against a $5.00 / $30.00 list, the same price as GPT-5.5. On the Google side, Gemini 3.1 Pro is the top option for the heaviest reasoning at $0.70 / $4.20 per 1M (list $2.00 / $12.00) — Google's flagship tier for coding, agents and long-context work. Gemini 3.7 Flash is Google's most recent release, thinking-by-default at Flash latency for $0.525 / $2.625.
Can I use Claude, GPT and Gemini through one API?
Yes. Kunavo is OpenAI-compatible at https://api.kunavo.com/v1 — one key reaches Claude, GPT and Gemini (plus image, video and audio). Change only base_url and the model slug, on one Stripe-billed wallet below each provider's list price depending on the model.
Which is cheapest?
Gemini 2.5 Flash, at $0.09 / $0.75 per 1M tokens on Kunavo — below GPT-5.6 Luna ($0.07 / $0.42) and Claude Haiku 4.5 ($0.40 / $2.00) for high-volume work.
Which are the newest flagship models?
On the Claude side, claude-fable-5 ($7.00 / $35.00 per 1M) is Anthropic's most capable model — it replaced claude-fable-5 on September 1, 2026 at an unchanged price — and claude-opus-5 ($2.00 / $10.00) is the value flagship — Anthropic lists it at $5.00 / $25.00, half of Fable 5's $10.00 / $50.00. On the OpenAI side, gpt-5-6-sol is the newest flagship — top-tier reasoning and agentic coding, 1.05M context — at $2.00 / $12.00, the same price as GPT-5.5. On the Google side, gemini-3-1-pro ($0.70 / $4.20) is the top option for the heaviest reasoning — Google's flagship tier for coding, agents and long-context work — while gemini-3-7-flash is the most recent Google release at $0.525 / $2.625, thinking-by-default at Flash latency. Full detail in the Gemini 3 API guide.
Can I use all three through one API?
Yes — Kunavo is OpenAI-compatible at https://api.kunavo.com/v1. One key reaches Claude, GPT and Gemini plus image, video and audio, on one Stripe balance.