BenchLM recommendation
Best Value Agentic AI Model in 2026 — Cost-Adjusted Rankings
As of August 15, 2026, the top model in best value agentic ai model on the BenchLM leaderboard is Laguna S 2.1 with a score of 266.8.
Last verified: August 15, 2026
Agentic workloads are token-intensive — agents loop, retry, and chain multiple calls. That makes cost-per-token a critical factor alongside raw capability. This ranking divides each model's weighted agentic score (Terminal-Bench 2.0, BrowseComp, OSWorld-Verified) by its output token price. The result shows which models give you the most agent capability per dollar. If you're building production AI agents with budget constraints, this is where you start.
Unless noted otherwise, ranking surfaces on this page use BenchLM's provisional leaderboard lane rather than the stricter sourced-only verified leaderboard.
Bottom line: Agentic tasks are token-intensive — value matters more here than almost anywhere. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite leads, with GPT-4o mini offering competitive agentic value.
Laguna S 2.1 leads this ranking with a score of 266.8, followed by Ministral 3 3B (207.9) and Ministral 3 14B (157.95). There is a significant gap between the leading models and the rest of the field.
The best open-weight option is Laguna S 2.1 (ranked #1 with a score of 266.8). Open-weight models are highly competitive in this category — self-hosting is a viable alternative to proprietary APIs.
This ranking uses provisional weighted averages across the scoring benchmarks in agentic. For detailed model profiles, click any model name below. To compare two specific models head-to-head, use the "vs #" links.
What changed
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite leads agentic value — most agent capability per dollar.
GPT-4o mini strong agentic value in OpenAI's lineup.
Gemini 2.5 Flash good agentic performance at Flash-tier pricing.
How to choose
Full Rankings (77 models)
Key Takeaways
The best value model is Laguna S 2.1 by Poolside with a provisional Score/$ ratio of 266.8 (score: 53.4, output: $0.2/1M tokens).
The best open-weight model is Laguna S 2.1 at position #1.
77 models are included in this ranking.
Score in Context
What these scores mean
Value scores divide the weighted agentic score by output token price (per 1M tokens). Higher means more capability per dollar. Models with no listed price are excluded.
Known limitations
Value rankings favor cheap models even if absolute performance is modest. A model scoring half as well at one-tenth the price wins on value — but may not meet your quality bar. Always check raw scores alongside value rankings.
Explore More
Know when it’s worth switching models
The model to choose, the cheaper alternative, and the release we would wait on.
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