New AI Models February 2026: Complete Roundup
All the major AI model releases and updates in February 2026 — including Claude Opus 4.6, Grok 3, DeepSeek V4, and more.
February 2026 AI Model Releases Summary
- Claude Opus 4.6 — Anthropic's new flagship. 1M token context, 9.5/10 overall score, best-in-class coding.
- Grok 3 — xAI's latest model with real-time data access and strong reasoning capabilities.
- DeepSeek V4 — Open-source challenger with competitive benchmarks and self-hosting capabilities.
February 2026 has been one of the most active months in the AI industry. Multiple frontier models launched within days of each other, reshuffling the leaderboard and giving developers more powerful options than ever. Here's everything you need to know.
Claude Opus 4.6 — The New #1
Provider
Anthropic
Release Date
Feb 5, 2026
Context Window
1M tokens
Overall Score
9.5/10
Claude Opus 4.6 takes the #1 spot in our overall rankings, surpassing GPT-5.2. Key highlights include a 1M token context window (5x increase), best-in-class coding (9.8/10), and native multi-agent workflow support.
Read full Claude Opus 4.6 deep-diveThe most impactful change is the 1M token context window. While Gemini 3 Pro still leads with 2M tokens, Opus 4.6 now offers 5x more context than its predecessor while maintaining Anthropic's superior coding and instruction-following performance.
Pricing remains at $5.00/$25.00 per 1M tokens (input/output), the same as Opus 4.5. This makes the upgrade a clear win for existing Anthropic users.
Grok 3 — xAI Enters the Arena
Provider
xAI
Release Date
Feb 2026
Context Window
128K tokens
Key Strength
Real-time data
Grok 3 represents xAI's most ambitious model yet. Built with access to real-time data through the X (Twitter) platform, Grok 3 offers a unique advantage for applications requiring up-to-the-minute information. Its reasoning capabilities have improved significantly, competing with GPT-5.2 and Claude Opus 4.5 on standard benchmarks.
Notable features: Real-time information access, strong reasoning and math capabilities, improved coding support, and integration with the X ecosystem. Grok 3 is particularly interesting for applications needing current events awareness.
DeepSeek V4 — Open-Source Challenger
Provider
DeepSeek
License
Open Source
Context Window
128K tokens
Key Strength
Self-hosting
DeepSeek V4 continues the trend of open-source models closing the gap with proprietary alternatives. This model offers impressive performance across coding and reasoning benchmarks while remaining fully open-source with self-hosting options.
Why it matters: For teams with data privacy requirements, regulatory constraints, or high-volume use cases where API costs become prohibitive, DeepSeek V4 offers a compelling alternative to proprietary models. It can be fine-tuned for specific domains and deployed on your own infrastructure.
Other Notable Updates
GPT-5.2 Updates
OpenAI has released minor updates to GPT-5.2, including improved tool use reliability and faster response times. The model remains the strongest for pure reasoning tasks (9.8/10).
Gemini 3 Pro Improvements
Google has improved Gemini 3 Pro's multimodal capabilities, particularly for video understanding. The 2M token context window remains the largest in the industry.
Llama 4 Rumors
Meta is expected to release Llama 4 in the coming months, which could significantly shift the open-source landscape. Early leaks suggest major improvements in reasoning and coding.
Performance Comparison: All Models Ranked
| Rank | Model | Overall | Coding | Reasoning | Context | Input Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Claude Opus 4.6(Anthropic) | 9.5 | 9.8 | 9.6 | 1,000K | $5.00 |
| #2 | GPT-5.2(OpenAI) | 9.4 | 9.5 | 9.8 | 256K | $2.50 |
| #3 | Claude Opus 4.5(Anthropic) | 9.3 | 9.7 | 9.5 | 200K | $3.00 |
| #4 | Gemini 3 Pro(Google) | 9.2 | 9 | 9.3 | 2,000K | $1.25 |
| #5 | Claude Sonnet 4(Anthropic) | 9 | 9.2 | 9 | 200K | $1.00 |
| #6 | GPT-4o(OpenAI) | 9 | 9 | 9.2 | 128K | $2.50 |
| #7 | Gemini 3 Flash(Google) | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 1,000K | $0.075 |
| #8 | Llama 3.3 70B(Meta) | 8.3 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 128K | Free* |
*Open-source models are free to download but require infrastructure to run. Rankings as of February 6, 2026.
Pricing Comparison
| Model | Input (1M tokens) | Output (1M tokens) | Monthly Cost (100M tokens)* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 4.6 | $5.00 | $25.00 | $1,100 |
| GPT-5.2 | $2.50 | $10.00 | $475 |
| Claude Opus 4.5 | $3.00 | $15.00 | $660 |
| Gemini 3 Pro | $1.25 | $5.00 | $237.5 |
| Claude Sonnet 4 | $1.00 | $5.00 | $220 |
| GPT-4o | $2.50 | $10.00 | $475 |
| Gemini 3 Flash | $0.075 | $0.300 | $14.25 |
| Llama 3.3 70B | Free | Free | Infra only |
*Estimated monthly cost assuming 100M tokens with 70% input, 30% output ratio. Prices as of February 6, 2026.
Compare the latest models yourself
Want more detailed comparisons with scoring and benchmarks?
Which Model Should You Pick in February 2026?
For coding & software engineering
Choose Claude Opus 4.6 — Best coding score (9.8/10), 1M token context for large codebases, multi-agent support for complex workflows.
For complex reasoning & research
Choose GPT-5.2 — Highest reasoning score (9.8/10) at a lower price point ($2.50 input). Still the gold standard for analytical tasks.
For long documents & multimodal
Choose Gemini 3 Pro — 2M token context (still the largest), excellent multimodal capabilities, competitive pricing at $1.25 input.
For budget-conscious applications
Choose Gemini 3 Flash — $0.075/1M input tokens with solid 8.5/10 performance. 97% cheaper than frontier models.
For privacy & self-hosting
Choose DeepSeek V4 or Llama 3.3 — Full control over your data, no API costs, customizable via fine-tuning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best AI model in February 2026?
Claude Opus 4.6 is the best overall model in February 2026 with a 9.5/10 score, followed closely by GPT-5.2 at 9.4/10. The best choice depends on your specific use case — see our decision guide above.
What new AI models were released in February 2026?
The major releases include Claude Opus 4.6 (Anthropic, Feb 5), Grok 3 (xAI), and DeepSeek V4 (open-source). Several existing models also received updates including GPT-5.2 and Gemini 3 Pro.
Is Claude Opus 4.6 better than GPT-5.2?
In our benchmarks, yes — Opus 4.6 scores 9.5/10 vs GPT-5.2's 9.4/10. Opus 4.6 leads in coding (9.8 vs 9.5) and instruction following (9.9 vs 9.5), while GPT-5.2 leads in reasoning (9.8 vs 9.6). See full comparison →
Which AI model is cheapest in 2026?
Gemini 3 Flash remains the cheapest capable model at $0.075/1M input tokens. For open-source options, Llama 3.3 70B and DeepSeek V4 can be run for free (infrastructure costs apply).
Conclusion
February 2026 marks a significant shift in the AI landscape. Claude Opus 4.6 takes the overall crown from GPT-5.2, Grok 3 brings real-time data capabilities to the frontier, and DeepSeek V4 continues to close the gap between open-source and proprietary models.
The competition is fierce, and developers benefit the most. With more models, better performance, and increasingly competitive pricing, the best strategy is to test multiple models with your actual use cases.
Compare All February 2026 Models
Test Claude Opus 4.6, GPT-5.2, Gemini 3, and more with your own prompts.