Cheapest Frontier LLMs
Frontier LLMs are the most capable state-of-the-art models. This page ranks frontier models by output price per million tokens, so you can find the lowest-cost option that still delivers top-tier capability — the best value for demanding reasoning, agentic, and generation tasks.
Ranked list (top 11)
| # | Model | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GLM-4 Plus NanoGPTFrontier | $7.50 | $7.50 | 128K |
| 2 | OpenAI GPT-4o HeliconeFrontier | $2.50 | $10.00 | 128K |
| 3 | OpenAI: GPT-4o OpenAIFrontier | $2.50 | $10.00 | 128K |
| 4 | anthropic--claude-3.5-sonnet SAP AI CoreFrontier | $3.00 | $15.00 | 200K |
| 5 | Claude 3.5 Sonnet DigitalOceanFrontier | $3.00 | $15.00 | 200K |
| 6 | Grok 3 PoeFrontier | $3.00 | $15.00 | 131K |
| 7 | Grok-4 PoeFrontier | $3.00 | $15.00 | 256K |
| 8 | xAI Grok 3 HeliconeFrontier | $3.00 | $15.00 | 131K |
| 9 | xAI Grok 4 HeliconeFrontier | $3.00 | $15.00 | 256K |
| 10 | anthropic--claude-3-opus SAP AI CoreFrontier | $15.00 | $75.00 | 200K |
| 11 | Claude 3 Opus LLM GatewayFrontier | $15.00 | $75.00 | 200K |
Prices are per 1M tokens (USD); confirm with the provider. Updated regularly.
More LLM rankings
Frequently asked questions
What is a frontier LLM?
A frontier LLM is a model at the current state of the art in capability — typically the flagship reasoning models from leading labs. They offer the strongest performance but usually cost more than smaller models.
What is the cheapest frontier LLM?
Ranked by output price, the cheapest frontier model currently listed is GLM-4 Plus. This gives you top-tier capability at the lowest cost in the frontier tier.
When should I pay for a frontier model?
Choose a frontier model for complex reasoning, agentic workflows, hard coding tasks, and anything where output quality directly drives value. For simpler high-volume tasks, a cheaper non-frontier model is often enough.