Top Picks for Reasoning
Claude Opus 4.8, GPT-5, and Gemini 2.5 Pro all perform strongly on multi-step reasoning benchmarks; several providers also offer a dedicated "thinking" or extended-reasoning mode worth enabling for genuinely hard problems specifically.
When to Use a Dedicated Reasoning Mode
Reserve extended reasoning modes for complex problems where the extra latency is worth it — for simple, everyday questions, standard mode is faster and usually sufficient.
Related Pages
Frequently Asked
What is a 'reasoning model' exactly?
A model or mode optimized for working through complex problems step by step, often trading speed for improved accuracy on hard tasks.
Should I always use reasoning mode when available?
No, reserve it for genuinely complex problems rather than simple everyday questions, since it's typically slower.
Where can I see current reasoning benchmark scores?
See our AI Benchmarks and Rankings pages.
Is reasoning ability the same as coding ability?
Related but distinct — see our Best LLM for Coding roundup for coding-specific recommendations.