Best model for your job # Best AI model for RAG > For RAG, GPT-5 scores highest on the current data (66.9), weighting long context 40%, knowledge 30%, instruction following 30%. The cheapest model in the top - Canonical page: https://noometry.com/best/for/rag - Last updated: 2026-10-10 - Title: Best AI model for RAG (October 2026) | Noometry For RAG, GPT-5 scores highest on the current data (66.9), weighting long context 40%, knowledge 30%, instruction following 30%. The cheapest model in the top 10 is Gemini 3.8 Flash at $0.75 / $3.75 per million tokens. Last verified October 10, 2026 Weights: [Long Context](https://noometry.com/best/long-context) 40%, [Knowledge](https://noometry.com/best/knowledge) 30%, [Instruction Following](https://noometry.com/best/instruction-following) 30%. Retrieval-augmented generation depends on reading long retrieved context faithfully and citing it. Best AI model for RAG | # | Model | Provider | Fit | Long Context | Knowledge | Instruction Following | Input $/M | Output $/M | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | [GPT-5](https://noometry.com/models/gpt-5) | OpenAI | **66.9** | 69.5 | 56.6 | 73.8 | $1.25 | $10 | | 2 | [Grok 4](https://noometry.com/models/grok-4) | xAI | **65.1** | 63.1 | 53.8 | 79.2 | — | — | | 3 | [Gemini 3.8 Flash](https://noometry.com/models/gemini-3-8-flash) | Google | **64.4** | 46.3 | 74.8 | 78.0 | $0.75 | $3.75 | | 4 | [Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview](https://noometry.com/models/gemini-3-1-pro-preview) | Google | **63.6** | 47.4 | 71.8 | 77.0 | $2 | $12 | | 5 | [Claude Fable 5.1](https://noometry.com/models/claude-fable-5-1) | Anthropic | **63.3** | 46.7 | 69.6 | 79.2 | $10 | $50 | | 6 | [GPT-6 Astra](https://noometry.com/models/gpt-6-astra) | OpenAI | **63.3** | 44.5 | 75.3 | 76.3 | $10 | $50 | | 7 | [Gemini 2.5 Pro](https://noometry.com/models/gemini-2-5-pro) | Google | **63.2** | 59.8 | 56.0 | 75.0 | $1.25 | $10 | | 8 | [GPT-5.4](https://noometry.com/models/gpt-5-4) | OpenAI | **62.9** | 50.3 | 65.3 | 77.1 | $2.50 | $15 | | 9 | [Claude Opus 5.5](https://noometry.com/models/claude-opus-5-5) | Anthropic | **62.8** | 47.1 | 66.4 | 80.0 | $4 | $20 | | 10 | [GPT-6.1 Sol](https://noometry.com/models/gpt-6-1-sol) | OpenAI | **62.6** | 44.9 | 71.8 | 77.0 | $2 | $10 | | 11 | [Gemini 3.7 Flash](https://noometry.com/models/gemini-3-7-flash) | Google | **62.5** | 45.7 | 69.7 | 77.7 | $0.75 | $3.75 | | 12 | [Claude Opus 5](https://noometry.com/models/claude-opus-5) | Anthropic | **62.4** | 46.5 | 66.8 | 79.2 | $5 | $25 | | 13 | [GPT-5.5](https://noometry.com/models/gpt-5-5) | OpenAI | **61.9** | 48.3 | 64.4 | 77.5 | $5 | $30 | | 14 | [Claude Opus 4.6](https://noometry.com/models/claude-opus-4-6) | Anthropic | **61.6** | 48.1 | 61.9 | 79.5 | $5 | $25 | | 15 | [Claude Sonnet 5.5](https://noometry.com/models/claude-sonnet-5-5) | Anthropic | **61.6** | 45.9 | 66.0 | 78.3 | $2 | $10 | | 16 | [Gemini 3.6 Flash](https://noometry.com/models/gemini-3-6-flash) | Google | **61.5** | 45.1 | 67.8 | 77.0 | $0.75 | $3.75 | | 17 | [Gemini 3.5 Flash](https://noometry.com/models/gemini-3-5-flash) | Google | **61.2** | 45.4 | 66.3 | 77.0 | $1.50 | $9 | | 18 | [Claude Opus 4.7](https://noometry.com/models/claude-opus-4-7) | Anthropic | **60.8** | 46.2 | 62.6 | 78.4 | $5 | $25 | | 19 | [Claude Fable 5](https://noometry.com/models/claude-fable-5) | Anthropic | **60.8** | 46.3 | 62.2 | 78.6 | $10 | $50 | | 20 | [GPT-5.6 Sol](https://noometry.com/models/gpt-5-6-sol) | OpenAI | **60.7** | 45.4 | 64.3 | 77.7 | $4 | $20 | | 21 | [Kimi K3](https://noometry.com/models/kimi-k3) (open weights) | Moonshot AI | **60.6** | 45.8 | 63.2 | 77.7 | $3 | $15 | | 22 | [Muse Spark](https://noometry.com/models/muse-spark) | Meta | **60.2** | 44.4 | 65.7 | 75.9 | — | — | | 23 | [Qwen3.8 Max](https://noometry.com/models/qwen3-8-max) | Alibaba (Qwen) | **60.0** | 45.6 | 61.7 | 77.6 | $2 | $6 | | 24 | [Gemini 3 Pro](https://noometry.com/models/gemini-3-pro) | Google | **59.8** | 44.0 | 64.4 | 76.3 | — | — | | 25 | [Claude Opus 4.8](https://noometry.com/models/claude-opus-4-8) | Anthropic | **59.8** | 45.4 | 61.3 | 77.4 | $5 | $25 | Sponsored placements are available on pages like this one. [Advertise on Noometry](https://noometry.com/advertise) Top two head to head: [GPT-5 vs Grok 4](https://noometry.com/compare/gpt-5-vs-grok-4) ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the best ai model for rag? For RAG, GPT-5 scores highest on the current data (66.9), weighting long context 40%, knowledge 30%, instruction following 30%. The cheapest model in the top 10 is Gemini 3.8 Flash at $0.75 / $3.75 per million tokens. ### How is this shortlist built? Retrieval-augmented generation depends on reading long retrieved context faithfully and citing it. 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(2026). Best AI model for RAG. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://noometry.com/best/for/rag Quote Noometry with a link back to this page. It is also available in [Markdown](https://noometry.com/md/best/for/rag.md).