Most-Used AI Models Right Now

Live usage data · updated 1 hour ago (2026-07-17)
Short answer

By real usage — the total token volume routed per model on OpenRouter over the last 7 days (updated 2026-07-17) — the most-used AI models right now are Hy3 (free) (tencent, 9.79T), MiMo-V2.5 (Xiaomi, 8.68T), DeepSeek V4 Flash (DeepSeek, 5.24T). The surprising part: 7 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. OpenAI ranks lower than most people expect on this measure: the first OpenAI model, GPT-5.5, sits at rank 14. This tracks OpenRouter API/marketplace demand, so first-party ChatGPT traffic is not counted.

The current ranking by real usage

# Model Provider Tokens/wk Context License Pricing (in/out)
1 Hy3 (free) tencent
9.79T
262K Open Source Free
2 MiMo-V2.5 Xiaomi
8.68T
1M Open Source $0.11/$0.28
3 DeepSeek V4 Flash DeepSeek
5.24T
1M Open Source $0.09/$0.18
4 MiniMax M3 MiniMax
3.95T
1M Open Source $0.3/$1.2
5 GLM 5.2 Z.ai
3.52T
1M Open Source $0.93/$3
6 Nemotron 3 Ultra (free) Nvidia
3.32T
1M Open Source Free
7 DeepSeek V4 Pro DeepSeek
2.47T
1M Open Source $0.44/$0.87
8 Claude Opus 4.8 Anthropic
2.2T
1M Proprietary $5/$25
9 Claude Opus 4.7 Anthropic
2.11T
1M Proprietary $5/$25
10 Gemini 3 Flash Preview Google
947B
1M Proprietary $0.5/$3
11 Claude Sonnet 4.6 Anthropic
942B
1M Proprietary $3/$15
12 Claude Sonnet 5 Anthropic
937B
1M Proprietary $2/$10
13 Step 3.7 Flash stepfun
894B
262K Open Source $0.19/$1.14
14 GPT-5.5 OpenAI
678B
1.1M Proprietary $5/$30
15 MiMo-V2.5-Pro Xiaomi
634B
1.1M Open Source $0.35/$0.7

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 2026-07-17) - the most-used AI models right now are Hy3 (free) (tencent, 9.79T), MiMo-V2.5 (Xiaomi, 8.68T), DeepSeek V4 Flash (DeepSeek, 5.24T). The surprising part: 7 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. OpenAI ranks lower than most people expect on this measure: the first OpenAI model, GPT-5.5, sits at rank 14. This tracks OpenRouter API/marketplace demand, so first-party ChatGPT traffic 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: 7 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-5.5) currently sits at rank 14. 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 →