Most-Used AI Models Right Now

Live usage data · updated 5 hours ago (2026-08-31)
Short answer

By real usage — the total token volume routed per model on OpenRouter over the last 7 days (updated 2026-08-31) — the most-used AI models right now are DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 (DeepSeek, 17.51T), Ox Alpha (Stealth, 15.68T), MiMo-V2.5 (Xiaomi, 9.14T). The surprising part: 8 of the top 10 are open-weight models, and Chinese open models (from labs like DeepSeek, Xiaomi, Tencent, MiniMax and Z.ai) dominate the top of the list by token volume. This measures OpenRouter API/marketplace demand, so first-party app traffic (ChatGPT, the Gemini app, claude.ai) is not counted.

The current ranking by real usage

# Model Provider Tokens/wk Context License Pricing (in/out)
1 DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 DeepSeek
17.51T
1.3M Open Source $0.03/$0.16
2 Ox Alpha Stealth
15.68T
1M Open Source -
3 MiMo-V2.5 Xiaomi
9.14T
1.1M Open Source $0.12/$0.24
4 GPT-5.6 Luna OpenAI
7.8T
1.1M Proprietary $0.2/$1.2
5 Hy3 tencent
6.66T
262K Open Source $0.13/$0.52
6 GLM 5.3 Flash Z.ai
6.16T
1.3M Open Source $0.07/$0.24
7 Nemotron 3 Ultra (free) Nvidia
5.36T
1M Open Source Free
8 MiniMax M3 (free) MiniMax
4.09T
1M Open Source Free
9 Gemini 3.7 Flash (batch) Google
3.96T
1M Proprietary $0.19/$0.94
10 Hy4 preview tencent
3.07T
1M Open Source $0.83/$2.5
11 GLM 5.2 (free) Z.ai
3.01T
256K Open Source Free
12 DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 DeepSeek
2.85T
1M Open Source $0.66/$1.98
13 GPT-5.6 Sol OpenAI
1.7T
1.1M Proprietary $2/$10
14 Kimi K3 moonshotai
1.57T
1M Open Source $2.55/$12.75
15 Claude Opus 5 (batch) Anthropic
1.46T
1M Proprietary $2.5/$12.5

Ranked by real usage: the total tokens (prompt + completion) routed to each model on OpenRouter over the trailing 7 days. This reflects developer and API demand on the OpenRouter marketplace and does not include first-party app traffic (ChatGPT, the Gemini app, claude.ai), so consumer chat flagships are under-counted relative to their true reach. Names, pricing and context windows are live from OpenRouter's own catalog and validated against it before display. Auto-refreshed; no hand-maintained list.

Common questions

What are the most-used AI models right now?
By real usage - the total token volume routed per model on OpenRouter over the last 7 days (updated 2026-08-31) - the most-used AI models right now are DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 (DeepSeek, 17.51T), Ox Alpha (Stealth, 15.68T), MiMo-V2.5 (Xiaomi, 9.14T). The surprising part: 8 of the top 10 are open-weight models, and Chinese open models (from labs like DeepSeek, Xiaomi, Tencent, MiniMax and Z.ai) dominate the top of the list by token volume. This measures OpenRouter API/marketplace demand, so first-party app traffic (ChatGPT, the Gemini app, claude.ai) is not counted.
How is "most used" measured?
By the total token volume (prompt plus completion) routed to each model on the OpenRouter marketplace over the trailing 7 days, refreshed regularly. It reflects developer and API demand. It does not include first-party app traffic like ChatGPT, the Gemini app, or claude.ai, so consumer chat flagships are under-counted relative to their true reach.
Do open-source AI models really lead by usage?
Yes on this measure: 8 of the current top 10 by OpenRouter token volume are open-weight models, with Chinese open models leading the very top of the list. This is API/marketplace demand, not total market share.
Where does OpenAI rank by usage?
On OpenRouter token volume, the first OpenAI model (GPT-5.6 Luna) currently sits at rank 4. Because this metric excludes first-party ChatGPT traffic, OpenAI appears lower here than its true total reach.

Dig deeper

Full model leaderboard → Usage trends over time → Provider market share → New on OpenRouter → JSON API →