Any best AI models 2026 comparison that names a single winner is selling something. Models are good at different jobs, and the gap between them changes with the question. This 2026 comparison takes five model families and puts the same five tasks to all of them on this site — writing, coding, math, summarizing and an everyday question — then reports what happened, and nothing more.
Write a short thank-you note to a neighbour who watered my plants for two weeks.
Method
Every number on this page comes from a run on multiaskai.com. There are no scores copied from elsewhere and no capability claims from memory.
- Five families answered each task: DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM, MiniMax and GPT-OSS.
- Each family received exactly the same question at the same moment, with the same short instruction to answer directly.
- Answers were capped at the same length allowance for every family.
- We record the time to the first words, the total time and the word count. We do not score quality, because we have no way to do that without an opinion.
- One run per task. That is enough to show behavior and nowhere near enough to rank anything. Timings move with provider load, so treat them as a snapshot.
- Where a family did not reply, the figure says so rather than dropping it.
What this cannot tell you: which family is “best”. What it can tell you: how differently they interpret the same request, how long they take, and how much text you get. Those three things decide most real choices.
The best AI models 2026 comparison, task by task
| Task | DeepSeek | Qwen | GLM | MiniMax | GPT-OSS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writing | 1.3 s · 45w | 4.0 s · 93w | 2.4 s · 57w | 1.6 s · 76w | 1.2 s · 26w |
| Coding | 1.0 s · 35w | 2.0 s · 30w | 21.2 s · 208w | 3.7 s · 222w | 2.6 s · 103w |
| Math | 1.5 s · 77w | 4.1 s · 218w | 2.7 s · 84w | 1.9 s · 81w | 2.8 s · 57w |
| Summarizing | 2.7 s · 91w | 2.9 s · 120w | 5.2 s · 55w | 1.7 s · 120w | 1.7 s · 111w |
| Everyday question | 3.6 s · 56w | 2.6 s · 84w | — | 2.3 s · 160w | 2.6 s · 155w |
Task 1: everyday writing
A thank-you note is a fair test of tone. There is no correct answer, only a range of appropriate ones.
Write a short thank-you note to a neighbour who watered my plants for two weeks.
DeepSeek
1.3 s ✓Thanks again for watering my plants while I was away—it was such a relief knowing they were in good hands. Everything looks great, and I really appreciate you taking the time. Let me know if there’s ever anything I can do for you in return!
Qwen
4.0 s ✓Subject: Thank you!
Hi [Neighbour's Name],
I just wanted to send a quick note to say a huge thank you for taking care of my plants while I was away. It’s such a relief to come home and see everything looking so healthy and happy thanks to your help.
I really appreciate you taking the time to water them for two weeks—it made my trip much less stressful knowing they were in good hands.
Please let me know if there is ever anything I can do to return the favour!
Best,
[Your Name]
GLM
2.4 s ✓Dear [Neighbour's name],
Thank you so much for watering my plants while I was away. It was such a relief knowing they were in good hands, and everything looks healthy and happy thanks to you. I really appreciate your kindness.
If you ever need a hand with anything, please don't hesitate to ask.
Warm regards, [Your name]
MiniMax
1.6 s ✓Hi [Name],
Just wanted to say a huge thank you for looking after my plants while I was away. Coming home to happy, healthy greenery was such a relief — and honestly the best welcome back I could have asked for.
You're a star. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you in return, and I'll bring around some of that homemade [cookies/wine/etc.] soon as a proper thank-you.
Really appreciate you, [Your name]
GPT-OSS
1.2 s ✓Dear [Neighbor’s Name],
Thank you so much for watering my plants for the past two weeks. I really appreciate your help and thoughtfulness.
Best, [Your Name]
The useful observation is length. The shortest answer here is roughly a third of the longest. If you are writing a note, that is the whole difference between “usable” and “needs cutting”.
Task 2: a small coding problem
Write a Python function that returns the two numbers in a list that add up to a target.
DeepSeek
1.0 s ✓Qwen
2.0 s ✓GLM
21.2 s ✓MiniMax
3.7 s ✓GPT-OSS
2.6 s ✓For code, the thing to compare is not whether it runs. It is whether the answer tells you the assumptions — what happens with duplicates, with an empty list, with no solution. Some families volunteer that. Others need to be asked.
Task 3: math with one right answer
A rectangle is 3 cm longer than it is wide and its area is 108 square centimetres. Find its dimensions.
DeepSeek
1.5 s ✓Qwen
4.1 s ✓GLM
2.7 s ✓MiniMax
1.9 s ✓GPT-OSS
2.8 s ✓Check the arithmetic yourself before you trust any of it. That habit costs ten seconds and is covered in how to check if an AI answer is correct.
Task 4: summarizing to a brief
Summarise the water cycle in five bullet points a ten-year-old can follow.
DeepSeek
2.7 s ✓- The sun heats up water in oceans, rivers, and lakes, turning it into invisible vapor that rises into the sky.
- As the vapor goes higher, it cools down and turns into tiny water drops, making clouds.
- When the drops get too heavy, they fall back to Earth as rain, snow, or hail.
- The water lands on the ground, soaks into the soil, or flows into streams and rivers that carry it back to the sea.
- Then the sun starts the whole process again—it’s a never-ending loop!
Qwen
2.9 s ✓- The sun heats up water in oceans, lakes, and rivers, turning it into invisible vapor that floats up into the sky.
- As this warm vapor rises higher, it cools down and turns back into tiny liquid droplets or ice crystals, forming clouds.
- When enough droplets gather together inside a cloud, they become too heavy to stay floating and fall back to Earth as rain, snow, or hail.
- This falling water collects in puddles, streams, and rivers, eventually flowing all the way back to the big oceans.
- The cycle starts all over again as the sun shines on the new water, proving that the same water has been circulating around our planet for millions of years!
GLM
5.2 s ✓- Evaporation: The sun warms up water in oceans, lakes and rivers, turning it into an invisible gas called water vapour, which floats up into the sky.
- Condensation: High up where the air is cold, the vapour turns back into tiny water droplets. Millions of these droplets clump together to form clouds.
- Precipitation:
MiniMax
1.7 s ✓- The sun heats up water in oceans, lakes, and rivers, turning it into invisible water vapour that rises into the sky. This is called evaporation.
- High up, the air is cold, so the water vapour cools down and turns back into tiny water droplets, forming clouds. This is called condensation.
- The droplets bump into each other inside the clouds, getting bigger and bigger until they're too heavy to stay up.
- The heavy droplets fall back down as rain (or snow if it's very cold). This is called precipitation.
- The rainwater flows into streams, rivers, and oceans, or soaks into the ground, ready to be heated by the sun again — and the cycle starts over!
GPT-OSS
1.7 s ✓- Evaporation – The sun heats water from oceans, lakes, and rivers, turning it into invisible water vapor that rises into the sky.
- Condensation – As the vapor cools higher up, it turns back into tiny droplets, forming clouds.
- Precipitation – When the cloud droplets get too heavy, they fall back to Earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
- Collection – The water lands in bodies of water, on land, or into the ground, where it can flow into rivers or seep into the soil.
- Repeat – The cycle keeps going: the water evaporates again, clouds form, and it rains, making the planet’s water continually move around.
Watch whether each family actually produced five bullets, and whether the vocabulary matches the audience that was asked for. Format instructions are followed well across the board; audience instructions are followed unevenly.
Task 5: the everyday question
How long should I boil an egg for a soft yolk?
DeepSeek
3.6 s ✓For a soft yolk, boil 6–7 minutes.
- 6 minutes: very soft, runny yolk, whites just set.
- 6.5 minutes: jammy, slightly thickened yolk.
- 7 minutes: soft but firmer, still creamy.
Start timing from when the water returns to a rolling boil after adding the eggs. For easy peeling, plunge into ice water immediately after.
Qwen
2.6 s ✓For a soft, runny yolk with set whites, boil the egg for 6 to 7 minutes.
Here is the best method:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Gently lower cold eggs into the boiling water using a spoon.
- Set a timer immediately.
- 6 minutes: Very runny yolk, slightly soft whites.
- 7 minutes: Jammy/soft yolk, fully set whites.
- Transfer the eggs to an ice bath for at least 2 minutes to stop cooking and make peeling easier.
GLM
no answerMiniMax
2.3 s ✓For a soft-boiled egg with a runny yolk, here's a quick guide based on whether your egg starts at room temperature or from the fridge:
From the refrigerator (most common):
- 6 minutes – runny yolk, fully set white
- 7 minutes – jammy, slightly thickened yolk
From room temperature:
- 5 minutes – runny yolk
- 6 minutes – jammy yolk
Tips for best results:
- Use a timer — even 30 seconds can change the texture.
- Gently lower eggs into already-boiling water (don't start cold) for more precise timing.
- Immediately transfer to an ice bath or run under cold water for 1–2 minutes to stop the cooking and make peeling easier (if you're not eating the shell-on).
- Older eggs (about a week old) peel more cleanly than very fresh ones.
If you want a soft but not runny yolk (the "jammy" style popular for ramen or toast), aim for the 7-minute mark from cold water.
GPT-OSS
2.6 s ✓Soft‑yolked boiled egg
| Size | Time (from rolling boil) |
|---|---|
| Small | 6–6½ min |
| Medium | 6½–7 min |
| Large | 7–7½ min |
| Extra‑large | 7½–8 min |
Quick method
- Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil.
- Gently lower the eggs with a spoon.
- Start the timer at the moment the water returns to a boil.
- When the timer ends, immediately transfer the eggs to ice water to stop the cooking.
Tips
- Freshness: Fresher eggs hold their shape better; if your eggs are very fresh, cut the time down by about 30 seconds.
- Altitude: At higher elevations (above 3,000 ft/900 m) add 30 seconds–1 minute to the time.
- Desired set‑up: 6 min gives a runny yolk, 7 min gives a slightly thickened but still runny yolk. If you prefer a bit more set, go to 7½ min.
Enjoy!
What the runs suggest
- Length is a house style, not a measure of effort. The same family tends to be long or short across every task.
- Speed to the first words varies more than total time. A family that starts quickly feels much faster even when it finishes second.
- Format instructions win. “Five bullet points” is respected almost everywhere; “for a ten-year-old” is respected sometimes.
- Failures happen. Providers rate-limit and error. Any comparison that never shows a failure is not showing you everything.
A best AI model 2026 comparison that put one family above the rest would need a scoring method we do not have. None of that ranks the families, and it is not meant to. If you want a ranking for your own work, run your own three questions on the compare page and mark the best answer. That is a better guide than anybody else’s league table.
Frequently asked questions
Which AI model is best overall?
There is no answer we can support with evidence. The families differ in length, speed and tone more than in raw ability on ordinary questions, and the one that suits your work is the one that suits your tasks.
Why only one run per task?
Because the point of the page is to show behavior, not to publish a benchmark. A real benchmark needs many runs, controlled conditions and a scoring method. We would rather show you the raw material than invent a score.
Do the timings mean one model is faster?
On that day, on that provider, for that question. Provider load moves these numbers around. The monthly Agreement Report averages them over thousands of answers, which is a much fairer view.