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.
This guide updates as the models do. When one leaps ahead for a job, the pick changes here first.