Google · Announced September 30, 2026
Gemini 4 Argon
Google's frontier model released October 13, 2026 — built for real-world coding and enterprise knowledge work. Paid, with API access at $2/$10 per million tokens.
What it costs + free access →The new AI models, explained honestly.
Gemini 4 Argon, the Claude 5.5 family, GPT-6, and Meta Muse — the frontier releases of late 2026. Most are paid, so for every model we state exactly what it costs and the genuinely free way into the same family. Facts checked against the providers' own announcements and press coverage, as always.
Best for: checking what a new model actually costs — and whether you can use the same family free — before paying for a subscription.
Anthropic · Released September 22, 2026
Claude Opus 5.5
Anthropic's most capable general release (September 22, 2026), aimed at long-running agentic coding with a 1M-token context window. Paid; claude.ai's free tier remains the free way in.
What it costs + free access →Anthropic · Released September 28, 2026
Claude Sonnet 5.5
Anthropic's most capable generally available Sonnet (September 28, 2026) — flagship-level performance at $2/$10 per million API tokens.
What it costs + free access →OpenAI · Rolled out globally October 7, 2026
GPT-6
OpenAI's flagship, rolled out globally in ChatGPT on October 7, 2026 with the new Intelligent UI. Paid tiers first; ChatGPT's free tier remains the free way into the family.
What it costs + free access →Meta · Introduced September 8, 2026 (Meta Connect)
Meta Muse
Meta's personal AI agent introduced September 8, 2026 — an assistant with its own computer, file system, and terminal that builds its own tools. Rolling out, initially US.
What it costs + free access →How to read these pages
Every model page answers the same three questions in the same order: what the model actually is, what it costs at each tier, and how to reach the same model family without paying. Pricing is stated per million tokens where the provider publishes it, and release dates are the provider's own. Where a claim comes from press coverage rather than the provider, the page says so.
These pages are reference notes, not reviews — none of the paid subscriptions were bought just to test them. When a model's capabilities matter to a recommendation, the listing pages and guides linked from each model are where the hands-on judgment lives.
Only want tools that cost nothing? Browse the free directory — every listing there has a genuine free tier.