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BenchLM recommendation

Best Meta AI Models in 2026

Data verified

As of September 15, 2026, the top model in best meta ai models on the BenchLM leaderboard is Muse Spark 1.2 with a score of 70.4.

Bottom line: Meta's Llama models are open-weight and free, but benchmark coverage is still sparse for the newest entries. Llama 4 Maverick leads on coding and reasoning. Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context.

About this ranking

Last verified: September 15, 2026

All Meta Llama models ranked by benchmark performance.

Unless noted otherwise, ranking surfaces on this page use BenchLM’s provisional leaderboard lane rather than the stricter sourced-only verified leaderboard.

Muse Spark 1.2 leads this ranking with a score of 70.4, followed by Muse Spark 1.1 (70.3) and Muse Spark (67.7). The top three are separated by just a few points — any of them would perform well for this use case.

The best open-weight option is Muse Glimmer 30B (ranked #4 with a score of 45). While proprietary models lead, open-weight options are within striking distance for teams willing to trade a few points of performance for full model control.

This ranking uses provisional overall weighted scores from the active scoring formula. For detailed model profiles, click any model name below. To compare two specific models head-to-head, use the "vs #" links.

What changed

Llama 4 Maverick Meta's strongest entry for coding and reasoning tasks.

Llama 4 Scout offers the largest context window of any model at 10M tokens.

Llama 3.1 405B most complete benchmark coverage among Meta models.

How to choose

Full Rankings (9 models)

1
Muse Spark 1.2
Meta·Proprietary·1M

70.4

BenchAlign v5

2
Muse Spark 1.1
Meta·Proprietary·1M

70.3

BenchAlign v5

3
Muse Spark
Meta·Proprietary·262K

67.7

BenchAlign v5

4
Muse Glimmer 30B
Meta·Open Weight·131K

45

BenchAlign v5

5
Llama 4 Behemoth
Meta·Open Weight·32K

38

BenchAlign v5

6
Llama 3.1 405B
Meta·Open Weight·128K

36.7

BenchAlign v5

7
Llama 4 Scout
Meta·Open Weight·10M

33.4

BenchAlign v5

8
Llama 3 70B
Meta·Open Weight·128K

30.8

BenchAlign v5

9
Llama 4 Maverick
Meta·Open Weight·1M

22.9

BenchAlign v5

Key Takeaways

The top model is Muse Spark 1.2 by Meta with a BenchAlign v5 score of 70.4 and Estimated evidence.

The best open-weight model is Muse Glimmer 30B at position #4.

9 models are included in this ranking.

Score in Context

What these scores mean

Models are ranked by the same overall BenchLM score used across all leaderboards. Comparing within Meta's lineup helps identify which model fits your use case and budget.

Known limitations

This page only shows Meta models. Cross-provider comparison requires the overall or category-specific leaderboards. Newer models may have limited benchmark coverage initially.

Last updated: September 15, 2026

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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