Choosing the right OpenAI model shouldnโt feel confusing, each one is built for a different purpose.
Most teams overspend or misuse models simply because they donโt know what each one is actually best at.
This chart breaks it down.
Hereโs a quick, clear guide to what each OpenAI model excels at:
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐.๐ - ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ & ๐๐จ๐ ๐ข๐
Best for complex reasoning, multi-step logic, and agentic workflows.
If you need deep thinking, this is the flagship.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐.๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ - ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก-๐๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Highest-accuracy model for analysis, high-stakes decisions, and technical problem-solving.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐.๐ - ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐
Former top reasoning modelโgreat logic, but now superseded by 5.2.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐ - ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐
๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฅ
Strong problem-solving and structured reasoning.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข - ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐
Great balance of cost and capability. Perfect for production workflows.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐ ๐๐๐ง๐จ - ๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ซ๐-๐๐ก๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐
Ideal for summaries, classification, and large-scale tasks.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐.๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ - ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ
Optimized for chat, support workflows, and natural responses.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐.๐ ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฑ - ๐๐จ๐ง๐ -๐๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ค๐ฌ
Great for developers working with large codebases.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐.๐ ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฑ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข - ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ-๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ข๐ง๐
For quick coding requests without the cost of heavier models.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐.๐ - ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง-๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐
Handles complex tasks well without the depth of the 5-series.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐.๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข - ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ข๐๐
Affordable model with solid reasoning and speed.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐.๐ ๐๐๐ง๐จ - ๐
๐๐ฌ๐ญ & ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฉ
Perfect for lightweight, high-volume tasks.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐๐จ - ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฅ
Top-tier model for text, vision, audio, and interactive tasks.
โฃ ๐๐๐-๐๐จ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข - ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ญ
Great performance at a fraction of the cost.
โฃ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ญ-๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ-๐๐๐ - ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง-๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Ideal for local and self-hosted use cases.