Netlify pits 11 AI models head-to-head

The test makes model selection look less like a leaderboard exercise and more like a workload-and-budget decision. Netlify’s results show that expensive frontier models can produce delightful work, but cheaper models may deliver comparable outcomes for straightforward builds.

• –Claude Opus 5 produced the richest designs but averaged 519 credits, with one run consuming 1,055 credits.
• –GPT 5.6 Sol and Claude Sonnet 5 delivered stronger visual results than their cost-efficient peers, but at roughly 140 credits per run.
• –GPT 5.6 Terra, GLM 5.2, Kimi K2.7 Code, and DeepSeek V4 Flash dramatically reduced costs, though with simpler or less consistent designs.
• –The comparison is subjective and limited to one static-site scenario, so developers should test models against their own tasks rather than treat it as a universal ranking.
• –OpenRouter support makes switching models practical, while Netlify’s credit accounting exposes the real cost of agent-driven development.