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Current Model Recommendations (Updated July 25, 2026)

LaoZhang API supports 200+ mainstream AI models. This page highlights current text, reasoning, image, and video choices, including GPT-5.6 Sol / Terra / Luna, Claude Opus 5 / Fable 5 / Sonnet 5, Gemini 3.6 Flash / 3.5 Flash-Lite, Grok 4.5, GPT-Image-2, Nano Banana 2 / Lite, and Seedance 2.0.
Distinguish provider releases from account availability A provider announcement does not mean every LaoZhang API token group can already call that model. Confirm model IDs, token type, region, price, and billing behavior on the live console model list. Product names are not automatically valid API model IDs.
Recommendations below combine provider information available through July 25, 2026 with LaoZhang API’s current integration status. For the complete model list and live pricing, visit the model catalog and pricing page or console pricing page.
Context figures below use each provider’s native API limit. LaoZhang API or another gateway may expose a lower limit for a particular route, region, or plan.

Model Categories

🤖 OpenAI Series

GPT-5.6 Series (Latest) 🔥

gpt-5.6 is an alias for gpt-5.6-sol. GPT-5.6 Pro is enabled with the request parameter reasoning.mode: "pro"; it is not a gpt-5.6-pro model ID. Check the LaoZhang API console for tier availability and Pro-mode passthrough.

GPT-5.5 Series (Previous-Generation Compatibility)

GPT-5.1 Series (November 2025) 🔥

The official Codex model IDs are gpt-5.1-codex and gpt-5.1-codex-mini. High and medium are reasoning-effort settings, not gpt-5.1-codex-high or gpt-5.1-codex-medium model IDs.

GPT-5 Series (August 2025)

Reasoning Models

GPT-4 Series

Image Generation

Video Generation

Wan 2.7 uses the Wan token group, pay-as-you-go billing, and the DashScope-compatible async creation path /wan/api/v1/services/aigc/video-generation/video-synthesis. See Wan 2.7 Video Generation API for request parameters and polling behavior.
Seedance 2.0 uses the SeeDance2 token group, usage-based tokens, and the async task endpoint /seedance/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks. See Seedance 2.0 Video Generation API for parameters, billing, and polling.
The July 1 retirement notice applied to older Sora website-simulation/forwarding routes, not the current usage-billed sora-2 and sora-2-pro official API routes. Old sora_video2*, character aliases, and Veo IDs such as veo-3.1, veo-3.1-fast, veo-3.1-fl, and veo3* are for migration diagnostics only. See Sora 2 Official API Forwarding and Veo 3.1 Official API Forwarding, then verify current token groups in the console.
Image Generation Testing Tool Visit yingtu.ai to experience various image generation models.Detailed documentation:

🎭 Claude Series (Anthropic)

Current Claude models control reasoning through the official effort / thinking parameters. A -thinking suffix is not an official Anthropic model ID, so only use such a gateway compatibility alias when it is explicitly listed in the LaoZhang API console.

Claude 5 Latest Series 🔥

claude-opus-5 currently lists at $5/1M input tokens, $25/1M output tokens, and $0.5/1M cache-read tokens. Confirm price, account access, and actual charges on the model catalog and pricing page, in the console, and in call logs.

Claude 4.8 / 4.7 / 4.6 / Haiku Compatibility Series

Claude 4.5 Series (Classic High Performance)

Claude 4 Series (May 2025)

Claude 3.7 Series (February 2025)

Claude 3.5 Series (Classic)

🌟 Google Gemini Series

Gemini 3 and 2.5 models control Thinking through request parameters. Some gateways expose -thinking or -nothinking compatibility aliases, but those are not official Google model IDs; use them only when they appear in the LaoZhang API console.

Gemini 3.6 / 3.5 Series (Latest) 🔥

For new projects, evaluate gemini-3.6-flash as the main Flash route and gemini-3.5-flash-lite for cost- and latency-sensitive high-volume work. Keep gemini-3.5-flash and gemini-3.1-flash-lite for existing integrations, and use only model IDs available in the console.

Gemini 2.5 Series (2025)

Latest Gemini Image Models (Nano Banana) 🔥

For new image projects, start with gemini-3.1-flash-image; use gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image for high-volume 1K work and gemini-3-pro-image for complex professional output. See Nano Banana 2, Nano Banana 2 Lite, and Nano Banana Pro.

Gemini 2.0 Series (Shut Down)

gemini-2.0-flash-001 and gemini-2.0-flash-lite-001 were shut down in June 2026. Do not use these IDs for new integrations.

Gemini 1.5 Series (Historical Compatibility)

Gemini 1.5 is no longer recommended for new integrations. Prefer gemini-3.6-flash, gemini-3.5-flash-lite, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, or the stable gemini-2.5-pro.

🚀 xAI Grok Series

Legacy IDs including grok-4-0709, grok-4-fast-*, and grok-3 were retired by xAI and now redirect to Grok 4.3. New integrations should use grok-4.5 or the current Grok 4.3 / 4.20 models shown in the console.

Grok Imagine Image and Video

These are official xAI model IDs. Confirm whether the corresponding image or video token group is available in the LaoZhang API console.

🔍 DeepSeek Series

DeepSeek will retire the deepseek-chat and deepseek-reasoner aliases on July 24, 2026. New integrations should use deepseek-v4-pro or deepseek-v4-flash; check the LaoZhang API console for current route availability.

🐘 Chinese Models

Alibaba Qwen 3.8 / 3.7 Series (Latest) 🔥

Legacy aliases such as qwq-*, qwen-max, qwen-plus, and qwen-turbo may remain useful for existing projects, but they no longer represent the latest Qwen generation. Check the LaoZhang API console for callable IDs.

Alibaba Qwen Coder 3 Series (Coding) 🔥

Other Chinese Models

Moonshot’s official model IDs do not include a kimi/ channel prefix; use such a prefix only when a gateway explicitly lists it. The Kimi K2 series has been discontinued and is no longer recommended for new integrations.

💰 Pricing Information

Billing Method

  • Pay-as-you-go: Charged based on actual token usage
  • No minimum charge: Use what you pay for, balance never expires
  • Real-time deduction: Fees deducted immediately after each call

Pricing Advantage

  • Direct from official sources with competitive rates
  • Enterprise pricing terms available through support
  • New users receive $0.5 free trial credit

View Real-time Pricing

Visit LaoZhang API Console Pricing Page to view the latest prices for all models.

🛠️ Usage Recommendations

Model Selection Guide

Programming Development
  • Primary: GPT-5.6 Sol, Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5, Grok 4.5
  • Alternatives: GPT-5.6 Terra, Claude Opus 4.8, Gemini 3.6 Flash, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, Qwen3 Coder 480B
Content Creation
  • Primary: GPT-5.6 Sol, Claude Opus 5, Claude Sonnet 5
  • Alternatives: GPT-5.6 Terra, Grok 4.5, Gemini 3.6 Flash, Qwen 3.7 Max, Kimi K3
Quick Response
  • Primary: Gemini 3.6 Flash, Claude Sonnet 5, Claude Haiku 4.5
  • Alternatives: GPT-5.6 Terra, Grok 4.3, Gemini 3.5 Flash, Gemini 2.5 Flash
  • Cost-focused: Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, GPT-5.6 Luna, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
Image Generation
  • Top quality: GPT-Image-2, Gemini 3 Pro Image (Nano Banana Pro), Flux Kontext Max
  • Balanced: Gemini 3.1 Flash Image (Nano Banana 2), GPT-Image-2 VIP
  • Cost-focused: Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image (Nano Banana 2 Lite), Gemini 2.5 Flash Image
Video Generation
  • Primary: Seedance 2.0, veo-3.1-generate-preview, Wan 2.7, Sora 2 Pro
  • Fast iteration: Seedance 2.0 Fast, veo-3.1-fast-generate-preview
  • OpenAI route: current official forwarding uses sora-2 / sora-2-pro; old sora_video2* and character aliases are only for migration diagnostics
Long Text Processing
  • Primary: Claude Opus 5, Claude Fable 5, GPT-5.6 Sol, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
  • Alternatives: GPT-5.6 Terra, Claude Sonnet 5, Grok 4.3, Gemini 3.6 Flash

Cost Optimization Tips

  1. Tiered Usage: Use lower-cost models for simple tasks, premium models for complex ones
  2. Test and Optimize: Test with smaller models first, then scale up as needed
  3. Batch Processing: Choose Nano or Mini versions for large volumes of similar tasks
  4. Cache and Reuse: Cache results for repeated queries
Model list is continuously updated. We promptly add newly released excellent models. For specific model needs or bulk requirements, please contact support.