Best AI models for images and PDFs
Models that accept images as input, so they can read screenshots, photos, charts and scanned or PDF documents. Ranked by the overall index from Epoch AI’s independent tests.
Our picks
The ranking
Compare the top two| # | Model | Overall indexi | Inputi | Outputi | Contexti |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GPT-6 AstraOpenAI | 166.6 | $10 | $50 | 1.1M |
| 2 | Claude Fable 5.1Anthropic | 165.0 | $10 | $50 | 1M |
| 3 | Claude Fable 5Anthropic | 163.6 | $10 | $50 | 1M |
| 4 | Claude Opus 5Anthropic | 162.7 | $5 | $25 | 1M |
| 5 | GPT-5.5 ProOpenAI | 162.5 | $30 | $180 | 1.1M |
| 6 | GPT-5.6 SolOpenAI | 162.0 | $2 | $10 | 1.1M |
| 7 | GPT-5.6 TerraOpenAI | 159.3 | $2 | $12 | 1.1M |
| 8 | GPT-5.5OpenAI | 159.3 | $5 | $30 | 1.1M |
| 9 | GPT-5.4 ProOpenAI | 159.1 | $30 | $180 | 1.1M |
| 10 | Claude Opus 4.8Anthropic | 158.3 | $5 | $25 | 1M |
per 1M tokens · USD
Quick answers
- Which AI model is best for reading images and PDFs?
- GPT-6 Astra from OpenAI leads this ranking (Overall index: 166.6). It costs $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens.
- Is there a cheaper alternative?
- GPT-5.6 Sol from OpenAI (Overall index: 162.0) costs $2 / $10 per million tokens, about 5.0× less than GPT-6 Astra.
How we rank
Scores come from tests run independently by Epoch AI (CC BY 4.0), not from the companies’ own announcements. Prices come from OpenRouter’s public API. Both are refreshed automatically several times a day, so this ranking follows new releases and price changes.