Task ranking
Best LLM for Vision & Documents
Gemini 3.8 Flash is the provisional first pick for Vision & Documents as of October 20, 2026, while independent task measurements are still limited.[1][2] It ranks #2 of 75 on LMArena Vision's OCR category (Elo 1316), based on blind human preference for reading text out of images. Claude Opus 5.5 is the next-ranked alternative. It ranks #4 of 75 on LMArena Vision's diagram category (Elo 1330), based on blind human preference for interpreting charts and diagrams.
- Best open-weight pick: GLM 5.3 Flash (#8)
- Compare Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Claude Opus 5.5 →
About this recommendation
- Updated
- Evidence through
- Sources
- 11
- Revision
- v106
Decision audit
Why this result
Inspect the inputs and the computed order behind the recommendation.
Models screened
24
live candidates
Evaluation feeds
6
task-weighted
Winner coverage
40%
intended feed weight
Largest provider share
3 of 8
Anthropic
Google: Gemini 3.8 Flash leads the measured task comparison with limited independent task measurements. Community volume, release age and usage popularity add no ranking points.
Real-world track record is still developing. The recommendation can lead on independent measurements while practitioner reports accumulate.
Sources evaluated
These are the weights used in scoring. Missing measurements are omitted from each model’s average. A feed with no result for any model released in the last 60 days is stale and does not score until it catches up.
| Evaluation feed | Weight | Winner result | Field measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| VLMEvalKit tasksdisabled; last successful check unknownunavailable | 0% | feed unavailable | 0/24 |
| LMArena Document | 33% | not measured | 8/24 |
| LMArena VisionObserved 2026-10-19 · evaluation date not supplied · high effort | 25% | #8 | 24/24 |
| LMArena Vision OCRObserved 2026-10-19 · evaluation date not supplied · high effort | 25% | #2 | 24/24 |
| Structured-output evaldisabled; last successful check unknownunavailable | 0% | feed unavailable | 0/24 |
| LMArena Vision DiagramsObserved 2026-10-19 · evaluation date not supplied · high effort | 17% | #2 | 24/24 |
Provider concentration
Each exact model is scored separately; provider identity is not a ranking input.
- Anthropic3 models
- Google2 models
- Meta1 model
- OpenAI1 model
- Z.ai1 model
Decision table
Every published model is shown in computed order. Practitioner sources are distinct community threads, not the citations repeated in the prose below.
Google · coverage 40% · provisional evidence
#2 LMArena Vision Diagrams · #2 LMArena Vision OCR
Anthropic · coverage 40% · provisional evidence
#4 LMArena Vision Diagrams · #6 LMArena Vision
Google · coverage 40% · provisional evidence
#4 LMArena Vision · #5 LMArena Vision OCR
Anthropic · coverage 60% · provisional evidence
#2 LMArena Document · #7 LMArena Vision Diagrams
Meta · coverage 40% · provisional evidence
#6 LMArena Vision · #6 LMArena Vision OCR
OpenAI · coverage 40% · provisional evidence
#5 LMArena Vision · #12 LMArena Vision Diagrams
Anthropic · coverage 40% · provisional evidence
#9 LMArena Vision Diagrams · #26 LMArena Vision OCR
Z.ai · coverage 40% · provisional evidence
#20 LMArena Vision Diagrams · #24 LMArena Vision
Task score averages the available, task-weighted measurements. Benchmark positions compare models matched to our catalog. Models measured by at least two independent evaluator families are considered first. Missing tests, practitioner report counts, popularity and release age add no points. Coverage describes evidence breadth, not a probability of correctness. Scores within two points are shown as close under this policy; this is not a statistical confidence interval. When the leading scores are that close, the model measured by more evaluator families ranks first.
- 01
Gemini 3.8 FlashGoogle · $0.83 in / $4.13 out per M tokens · 1.0M context
Gemini 3.8 Flash ranks #2 of 75 on LMArena Vision's OCR category (Elo 1316), based on blind human preference for reading text out of images.
Best when: Its strongest result for this task is on LMArena Vision OCR, which measures reading text out of images and scans. - 02
Claude Opus 5.5Anthropic · $4 in / $20 out per M tokens · 1M context
Claude Opus 5.5 ranks #4 of 75 on LMArena Vision's diagram category (Elo 1330), based on blind human preference for interpreting charts and diagrams.
Best when: Its strongest result for this task is on LMArena Vision diagrams, which measures interpreting charts and diagrams. - 03
Gemini 3.7 FlashGoogle · $0.75 in / $3.75 out per M tokens · 1.0M context
Ranks #4 on LMArena's vision arena and #5 on OCR, showing strong general vision performance with particular strength in text extraction from images.
Best when: Use for OCR tasks where it ranks #5 of 75 with Elo 1308 on LMArena Vision's OCR category.More tips
- Deploy for general image understanding where it holds Elo 1295, ranking #4 of 81 on LMArena's vision arena.
No practitioner reports are linked yet, so no cautions are listed. Absence of reports is not evidence of reliability.
- 04
Claude Fable 5.1Anthropic · $10 in / $50 out per M tokens · 1M context
Ranks #2 on LMArena's document arena with balanced performance across vision tasks, placing #7 on diagrams and #10 on both general vision and OCR.
Best when: Use for end-to-end document processing workflows where it ranks #2 of 34 with score 1513 on LMArena's document arena.More tips
- Deploy for chart interpretation where it ranks #7 of 75 with Elo 1323 on LMArena Vision's diagram category.
No practitioner reports are linked yet, so no cautions are listed. Absence of reports is not evidence of reliability.
- 05
Muse Spark 1.2Meta · $1.25 in / $4.25 out per M tokens · 1.0M context
Ties for #6 on LMArena's vision arena with strong OCR performance at #6, though weaker on diagrams at #15.
Best when: Use for text extraction from images where it ranks #6 of 75 with Elo 1307 on LMArena Vision's OCR category.More tips
- Deploy for general image understanding where it ties for #6 of 81 with Elo 1293 on LMArena's vision arena.
No practitioner reports are linked yet, so no cautions are listed. Absence of reports is not evidence of reliability.
- 06
GPT-6.1 SolOpenAI · $2 in / $10 out per M tokens · 1.1M context
GPT-6.1 Sol ranks #5 of 81 on LMArena's vision arena (Elo 1294), based on human preference on image-understanding tasks.
Best when: Its strongest result for this task is on LMArena Vision, which measures reading images, screenshots, and documents.No practitioner reports are linked yet, so no cautions are listed. Absence of reports is not evidence of reliability.
- 07
Claude Sonnet 5.5Anthropic · $2 in / $10 out per M tokens · 1M context
Claude Sonnet 5.5 ranks #9 of 75 on LMArena Vision's diagram category (Elo 1321), based on blind human preference for interpreting charts and diagrams.
Best when: Its strongest result for this task is on LMArena Vision diagrams, which measures interpreting charts and diagrams.No practitioner reports are linked yet, so no cautions are listed. Absence of reports is not evidence of reliability.
- 08
GLM 5.3 FlashZ.ai · $0.047 in / $0.16 out per M tokens · 1.0M context · open-weight
GLM 5.3 Flash ranks #20 of 75 on LMArena Vision's diagram category (Elo 1306), based on blind human preference for interpreting charts and diagrams.
Best when: Its strongest result for this task is on LMArena Vision diagrams, which measures interpreting charts and diagrams.No practitioner reports are linked yet, so no cautions are listed. Absence of reports is not evidence of reliability.
Frequently asked
- What is the best model for Vision & Documents?
- Gemini 3.8 Flash ranks first as of October 20, 2026. Gemini 3.8 Flash ranks #2 of 75 on LMArena Vision's OCR category (Elo 1316), based on blind human preference for reading text out of images.[1]
- What is the best alternative to Gemini 3.8 Flash?
- Claude Opus 5.5 ranks second. Claude Opus 5.5 ranks #4 of 75 on LMArena Vision's diagram category (Elo 1330), based on blind human preference for interpreting charts and diagrams.[2]
- Which open-weight model ranks highest for Vision & Documents?
- GLM 5.3 Flash is the highest-ranked open-weight model, at #8. GLM 5.3 Flash ranks #20 of 75 on LMArena Vision's diagram category (Elo 1306), based on blind human preference for interpreting charts and diagrams.[3]
Sources
- 1
“Within the 75 catalog models matched to this evaluation: Ranks #2 of 75 on LMArena Vision's OCR category (Elo 1316), based on blind human preference for reading text out of images.”
LMArena Vision OCR · Benchmark · Oct 19, 2026 - 2
“Within the 75 catalog models matched to this evaluation: Ranks #4 of 75 on LMArena Vision's diagram category (Elo 1330), based on blind human preference for interpreting charts and diagrams.”
LMArena Vision diagrams · Benchmark · Oct 19, 2026 - 3
“Within the 75 catalog models matched to this evaluation: Ranks #20 of 75 on LMArena Vision's diagram category (Elo 1306), based on blind human preference for interpreting charts and diagrams.”
LMArena Vision diagrams · Benchmark · Oct 19, 2026 - 4
“Within the 75 catalog models matched to this evaluation: Ranks #5 of 75 on LMArena Vision's OCR category (Elo 1308), based on blind human preference for reading text out of images.”
LMArena Vision OCR · Benchmark · Oct 19, 2026 - 5
“Within the 81 catalog models matched to this evaluation: Ranks #4 of 81 on LMArena's vision arena (Elo 1295), based on human preference on image-understanding tasks.”
LMArena vision arena · Benchmark · Oct 19, 2026 - 6
“Within the 34 catalog models matched to this evaluation: Ranks #2 of 34 on LMArena's document arena (score 1513), based on blind preference for document tasks.”
LMArena document arena · Benchmark · Sep 13, 2026 - 7
“Within the 75 catalog models matched to this evaluation: Ranks #7 of 75 on LMArena Vision's diagram category (Elo 1323), based on blind human preference for interpreting charts and diagrams.”
LMArena Vision diagrams · Benchmark · Oct 19, 2026 - 8
“Within the 75 catalog models matched to this evaluation: Ranks #6 of 75 on LMArena Vision's OCR category (Elo 1307), based on blind human preference for reading text out of images.”
LMArena Vision OCR · Benchmark · Oct 19, 2026 - 9
“Within the 81 catalog models matched to this evaluation: Ranks #6 of 81 on LMArena's vision arena (Elo 1293), based on human preference on image-understanding tasks.”
LMArena vision arena · Benchmark · Oct 19, 2026 - 10
“Within the 81 catalog models matched to this evaluation: Ranks #5 of 81 on LMArena's vision arena (Elo 1294), based on human preference on image-understanding tasks.”
LMArena vision arena · Benchmark · Oct 19, 2026 - 11
“Within the 75 catalog models matched to this evaluation: Ranks #9 of 75 on LMArena Vision's diagram category (Elo 1321), based on blind human preference for interpreting charts and diagrams.”
LMArena Vision diagrams · Benchmark · Oct 19, 2026
Rankings synthesized from community evidence and open benchmarks. See methodology. Not driven by vendor marketing.