How to Choose the Right AI Model for Your OpenClaw Instance

One of OpenClaw’s strengths is multi-model support. You can switch between leading AI models with a single click, no redeployment needed. But which model should you choose?

This guide breaks down every model available on OpenClaw to help you make the right choice.

Anthropic Claude Models

Claude is built by Anthropic, an AI safety company founded by former OpenAI researchers. Claude models are known for thoughtful, nuanced responses and strong instruction-following.

Claude Opus 4.6 — The Powerhouse

Best for: Complex reasoning, multi-step analysis, research, architecture decisions, detailed writing

Strengths: Deepest reasoning capability, best at following nuanced instructions, excels at long-form content
Trade-off: Slower and more expensive per token
Ideal users: Researchers, senior developers, writers creating long-form content

Claude Sonnet 4.5 — The All-Rounder (Recommended)

Best for: General use, everyday tasks, coding, writing, analysis

Strengths: Excellent balance of quality, speed, and cost. Handles most tasks as well as Opus
Trade-off: Slightly less nuanced on extremely complex reasoning tasks
Ideal users: Most users — this is the default for good reason

Claude Haiku 4.5 — The Speedster

Best for: Quick responses, high-volume conversations, Telegram bots, cost-conscious usage

Strengths: Fastest Claude model, very affordable, still highly capable
Trade-off: Less suited for complex, multi-step reasoning
Ideal users: Telegram bot operators, budget-conscious users, customer support bots

OpenAI GPT Models

OpenAI’s GPT models are among the most widely used AI models in the world, powering everything from ChatGPT to enterprise applications.

GPT-5.2 — The Latest Flagship

Best for: Advanced reasoning, complex coding, research, high-stakes tasks

Strengths: OpenAI’s most capable model, excellent at coding and multi-step reasoning, large context window
Trade-off: Higher cost per token than GPT-4.1
Ideal users: Power users who want the best OpenAI has to offer, developers working on complex projects

GPT-4.1 — Strong General-Purpose

Best for: General tasks, coding, creative writing, analysis

Strengths: Well-rounded performance, extensive training data, good at code generation
Trade-off: Requires an OpenAI API key
Ideal users: Users already in the OpenAI ecosystem

GPT-4.1 Mini — Budget-Friendly Speed

Best for: Fast responses on a budget, simple queries, high-volume use

Strengths: Very fast, very affordable, good enough for most everyday tasks
Trade-off: Less capable on complex reasoning
Ideal users: Users wanting fast OpenAI responses at low cost

GPT-4o — Multimodal Powerhouse

Best for: Tasks involving images, audio, and text together

Strengths: Native multimodal support (vision and audio), strong general performance
Trade-off: Slightly older architecture than GPT-4.1 series
Ideal users: Users who need image understanding or multimodal workflows

GPT-4o Mini — Affordable Multimodal

Best for: Quick multimodal tasks at minimal cost

Strengths: Very fast, very affordable, supports vision
Trade-off: Less capable than full GPT-4o on complex tasks
Ideal users: Budget-conscious users who still need multimodal support

o3-mini — Reasoning Specialist

Best for: Math, science, coding, and logic-heavy tasks

Strengths: Purpose-built for step-by-step reasoning, excels at STEM tasks
Trade-off: Slower than standard chat models due to chain-of-thought processing
Ideal users: Developers, students, and researchers working on technical problems

Google Gemini

Gemini 2.5 Pro — Deep Reasoning

Best for: Complex analysis, research, long-context tasks

Strengths: Google’s most capable model, excellent at reasoning and long documents, massive context window
Trade-off: Higher cost and slightly slower than Flash variants
Ideal users: Researchers, analysts, and users working with large documents

Gemini 2.5 Flash — Balanced Reasoning

Best for: Fast reasoning tasks that need more depth than 2.0 Flash

Strengths: Good reasoning capability with fast response times, affordable
Trade-off: Not as capable as 2.5 Pro on the most complex tasks
Ideal users: Users who want Google’s reasoning improvements at a budget price

Gemini 2.0 Flash — Fast & Versatile

Best for: Quick responses, multimodal tasks, users in the Google ecosystem

Strengths: Very fast, competitive quality, strong at multimodal understanding
Trade-off: Older generation, less reasoning depth than 2.5 series
Ideal users: Users wanting the fastest Google responses

DeepSeek

DeepSeek has made waves with open-weight models that rival top-tier providers at a fraction of the cost.

DeepSeek R1 — Reasoning Breakthrough

Best for: Complex reasoning, math, coding, research tasks

Strengths: Exceptional reasoning capability rivaling much more expensive models, very affordable pricing
Trade-off: Slower due to chain-of-thought processing, newer provider
Ideal users: Budget-conscious users who need top-tier reasoning

DeepSeek V3 — Fast General Chat

Best for: General-purpose chat, writing, everyday tasks

Strengths: Fast responses, very low cost, strong performance for the price
Trade-off: Not as polished as Claude or GPT for nuanced instructions
Ideal users: Users looking for maximum value per dollar

xAI Grok

xAI builds the Grok family of models, known for direct, unfiltered responses and real-time knowledge.

Grok 3 — Powerful & Direct

Best for: Research, analysis, coding, tasks requiring up-to-date knowledge

Strengths: Strong reasoning, direct communication style, real-time knowledge integration
Trade-off: Higher cost tier, newer ecosystem
Ideal users: Users who value directness and current information

Grok 3 Mini — Fast & Light

Best for: Quick responses, everyday chat, budget usage

Strengths: Very fast, affordable, good general performance
Trade-off: Less capable on complex reasoning than full Grok 3
Ideal users: Users wanting fast xAI responses at low cost

Head-to-Head Comparison

Model	Quality	Speed	Cost	Best Use
Claude Opus 4.6	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	$$$$	Complex reasoning
Claude Sonnet 4.5	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	$$	General use
Claude Haiku 4.5	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	$	Fast & cheap
GPT-5.2	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	$$$	Advanced reasoning
GPT-4.1	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	$$	General use
GPT-4.1 Mini	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	$	Budget speed
GPT-4o	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	$$	Multimodal
GPT-4o Mini	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	$	Budget multimodal
o3-mini	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	$$	STEM reasoning
Gemini 2.5 Pro	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	$$$	Deep reasoning
Gemini 2.5 Flash	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	$	Balanced reasoning
Gemini 2.0 Flash	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	$	Fast & versatile
DeepSeek R1	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	$	Reasoning on a budget
DeepSeek V3	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	$	Budget chat
Grok 3	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	$$$	Research & coding
Grok 3 Mini	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	$	Fast & direct

Our Recommendations

For Most Users

Start with Claude Sonnet 4.5. It delivers the best all-round experience — smart, fast, and reasonably priced.

For Messaging Bots

Use Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-4.1 Mini, or Grok 3 Mini. Speed matters in chat, and these models deliver near-instant responses. See our Telegram and WhatsApp integration guides.

For Complex Work

Choose Claude Opus 4.6, GPT-5.2, or DeepSeek R1. For deep research, complex coding tasks, or detailed analysis, the extra capability is worth the cost. DeepSeek R1 offers stunning reasoning at a fraction of the price.

For Budget Users

Start with Claude Haiku 4.5 or DeepSeek V3. Both are surprisingly capable and cost a fraction of the larger models.

How to Switch Models

Changing models on OpenClaw is instant:

Go to your dashboard
Navigate to AI Models
Select your preferred model
Click Save — no redeployment needed

You can switch models as often as you like, mixing and matching for different tasks throughout the day.

Ready to try different models? Sign up for OpenClaw and experiment with all available options.