Which model for the job.
No tool is best at everything, and none of them paid for a spot here. Match the model to the task, keep your prompts in one place, and switch whenever it helps.
- Careful reasoning, code, or a long document Claude
Strong at following instructions closely, holding a lot of context, and not over-reaching. A good default for real work.
- Everyday questions, drafting, and images ChatGPT
Fast, broad, and well rounded, with image generation and a large ecosystem of tools built in.
- Research with current information and sources Perplexity
Built around live search and citations, so you can check where an answer came from instead of trusting it blind.
- Work that lives inside Google, or very long inputs Gemini
Sits close to Docs, Gmail, and Drive, and handles very large amounts of context in one go.
- A quick, cheap, or throwaway task A smaller model
The price gap between models is huge. For simple jobs the cheapest option is usually fine, and you keep the strong model for when it matters.
- Real-time chatter and what is happening right now Grok
Wired into a live social feed, so it leans current. Verify anything that matters, the same as anywhere.
What the picks are weighed against
These criteria, in this order, decide every pick above. Hold the guidance to them.
- Fit for the job How well the model does the specific task named, not how it scores in general. The task sets the pick.
- Honesty and verifiability Whether it stays close to instructions, admits what it does not know, and lets you check its sources instead of trusting it blind.
- Cost and speed The price and latency for that job. The gap between models is large, so the cheapest one that clears the bar wins.
- Where your work already lives Whether it sits close to the tools and data you are already in, when that genuinely saves you steps.
No tool or vendor is favored for any reason other than these. Nobody paid to be listed.
This guide updates as the models do. When one leaps ahead for a job, the pick changes here first.