Best OpenAI Models for Writing
The best OpenAI model for writing is GPT-5.6 Sol — 58.9 intelligence with the context to hold a full long-form draft. GPT-5.6 Terra (55.0) and GPT-5.5 (54.8) round out the top three.
The best AI models for writing — drafting, editing, long-form content and creative work — ranked by general capability (the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index) among models with the context to hold a full draft. There is no single writing benchmark, so this ranking uses overall intelligence as the proxy that correlates best with prose quality, restricted to models with at least 100K tokens of context.
- 1
gpt-5.6-solReasoningToolsJSON+158.9 intel · $5.00/M · 74 t/s58.9Intelligence - 2gpt-5.6-terraReasoningToolsJSON+155.0 intel · $2.50/M · 96 t/s55.0Intelligence
- 3gpt-5.5ReasoningToolsJSON+154.8 intel · $5.00/M · 100 t/s54.8Intelligence
- 4gpt-5.4ReasoningToolsJSON+151.4 intel · $2.50/M · 79 t/s51.4Intelligence
- 5gpt-5.6-lunaReasoningToolsJSON+151.2 intel · $1.00/M · 97 t/s51.2Intelligence
- 6gpt-5.3-codexReasoningToolsJSON+144.3 intel · $1.75/M · 400K ctx44.3Intelligence
- 7gpt-5.2ReasoningToolsJSON+142.2 intel · $1.75/M · 71 t/s42.2Intelligence
- 8gpt-5.2-codexReasoningToolsJSON+140.1 intel · $1.75/M · 400K ctx40.1Intelligence
- 9gpt-5.4-miniReasoningToolsJSON+140.0 intel · $0.750/M · 124 t/s40.0Intelligence
- 10gpt-5.4-nanoReasoningToolsJSON+138.2 intel · $0.200/M · 50 t/s38.2Intelligence
- 11gpt-5.1ReasoningToolsJSON+136.9 intel · $1.25/M · 78 t/s36.9Intelligence
- 12gpt-5-codexReasoningToolsJSON+136.1 intel · $1.25/M · 400K ctx36.1Intelligence
- 13gpt-5.1-codexReasoningToolsJSON+134.7 intel · $1.25/M · 400K ctx34.7Intelligence
- 14gpt-5ReasoningToolsJSON+134.7 intel · $1.25/M · 400K ctx34.7Intelligence
- 15o3-proReasoningToolsJSON+132.5 intel · $20.00/M · 200K ctx32.5Intelligence
- 16gpt-5.1-codex-miniReasoningToolsJSON+130.6 intel · $0.250/M · 400K ctx30.6Intelligence
- 17o3ReasoningToolsJSON+130.4 intel · $2.00/M · 200K ctx30.4Intelligence
- 18o4-mini-highReasoningToolsJSON+125.6 intel · $1.10/M · 200K ctx25.6Intelligence
- 19o4-miniReasoningToolsJSON+125.6 intel · $1.10/M · 200K ctx25.6Intelligence
- 20gpt-5-miniReasoningToolsJSON+125.3 intel · $0.250/M · 107 t/s25.3Intelligence
- 21gpt-oss-120bReasoningToolsJSON23.8 intel · $0.037/M · 131K ctx23.8Intelligence
- 22o1ReasoningToolsJSON+123.4 intel · $15.00/M · 200K ctx23.4Intelligence
- 23gpt-5-nanoReasoningToolsJSON+119.9 intel · $0.050/M · 181 t/s19.9Intelligence
- 24gpt-4.1ToolsJSONVision19.4 intel · $2.00/M · 61 t/s19.4Intelligence
- 25o3-miniReasoningToolsJSON19.0 intel · $1.10/M · 200K ctx19.0Intelligence
Frequently asked
What is the best OpenAI model for writing?
The best OpenAI model for writing is GPT-5.6 Sol — 58.9 intelligence with the context to hold a full long-form draft. GPT-5.6 Terra (55.0) and GPT-5.5 (54.8) round out the top three.
What's a good alternative to GPT-5.6 Sol?
GPT-5.6 Terra (55.0) is the closest alternative on this metric, followed by GPT-5.5 (54.8). See the full ranking above for the tradeoffs.
How many OpenAI models are there?
modelgrep tracks 67 OpenAI models with live benchmarks, speed, latency and per-provider pricing, led on intelligence by GPT-5.6 Sol. 25 of them qualify for this ranking.