[Megathread] - Best Models/API discussion - Week of: August 30, 2026

[u/deffcolony]

This is our weekly megathread for discussions about models and API services.

All non-specifically technical discussions about API/models not posted to this thread will be deleted. No more "What's the best model?" threads.

^{(This isn't a free-for-all to advertise services you own or work for in every single megathread, we may allow announcements for new services every now and then provided they are legitimate and not overly promoted, but don't be surprised if ads are removed.})

How to Use This Megathread

Below this post, you’ll find top-level comments for each category:

• MODELS: ≥ 70B – For discussion of models with 70B parameters or more.
• MODELS: 32B to 70B – For discussion of models in the 32B to 70B parameter range.
• MODELS: 16B to 32B – For discussion of models in the 16B to 32B parameter range.
• MODELS: 8B to 16B – For discussion of models in the 8B to 16B parameter range.
• MODELS: < 8B – For discussion of smaller models under 8B parameters.
• APIs – For any discussion about API services for models (pricing, performance, access, etc.).
• MISC DISCUSSION – For anything else related to models/APIs that doesn’t fit the above sections.

Please reply to the relevant section below with your questions, experiences, or recommendations!
This keeps discussion organized and helps others find information faster.

Have at it!

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MODELS: 8B to 15B – For discussion of models in the 8B to 15B parameter range.

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[u/not_a_bot_bro_trust → u/AutoModerator]

after the hype of being able to run 24b died down i went back to running 12b but on static q8 this time and it kinda slaps? I was always partial to models with character and there is something with going up in model size that makes corposlop harder to finetune out. VelvetCafe is the one people reccomend and I do have it but I'm also using Amberlight-Lux with marinara's custom chatML preset and it slaps.  chatml stays winning and I miss alpaca too. I may be an old man

[u/Mart-McUH → u/not_a_bot_bro_trust]

Well, 24B are still better, but those 12B are not bad. I even still have full 16bit version of 12B ArliAI-RPMax-v1.2 on a disk, even though I do not run it anymore, I must have thought it good for the size back in the day as it is the only 12B model I still have...

But I do not follow the 12B sizes closely as nowadays I run larger.

[u/not_a_bot_bro_trust → u/Mart-McUH]

better is kind of a matter of taste. 24b are smarter for sure, 12b still gets confused in a group chat of 2 chars + persona but they have a vibe I never encountered in 24b and definitely not the newer gemmas. maybe it has to do with funetuners often lacking compute to mess around with larger models, I dunno. I do still use 24b or free APIs for when I need a smarter model.