--- title: "Reasoning effort — a pricing dimension, not a τ — Undominated" canonical: https://undominated.ai/effort/ description: "82 of 364 models cannot disable thinking (as of 2026-10-06). No reasoning-tax point estimate." --- # Reasoning effort — a pricing dimension, not a τ — Undominated > 82 of 364 models cannot disable thinking (as of 2026-10-06). No reasoning-tax point estimate. # Reasoning effort Max effort is a pricing dimension. We report what vendors publish. We do not ship a reasoning-tax τ point estimate — that needs first-party probes with median and IQR, n≥15. As of 2026-10-06, **82** of 364 publishable models (23%) mark reasoning as mandatory — thinking cannot be turned off, so the billed completion rate is a cost floor, not an option. Condition: vendor reasoning.mandatory on the OpenRouter-derived catalogue; the two providers on the publication denylist excluded. A model counts once whatever its delivery variants: the 82 are 106 of the catalogue's 447 entries. No τ. 82/364 cannot disable thinking 242 reasoning supported 160 supported and optional Effort ladders below are vendor labels (low / high / xhigh / max). An Elo without its effort level is not a fact — see methodology. | Model | Default | Efforts | | --- | --- | --- | | [AionLabs: Aion 3.5](/models/aion-labs__aion-3.5/) [Check](/check/aion-labs__aion-3.5/) | high | max, high, low | | [AionLabs: Aion 3.5 Mini](/models/aion-labs__aion-3.5-mini/) [Check](/check/aion-labs__aion-3.5-mini/) | high | max, high, low | | [AionLabs: Aion-2.0](/models/aion-labs__aion-2.0/) [Check](/check/aion-labs__aion-2.0/) | — | — | | [AionLabs: Aion-3.0](/models/aion-labs__aion-3.0/) [Check](/check/aion-labs__aion-3.0/) | — | — | | [AionLabs: Aion-3.0-Mini](/models/aion-labs__aion-3.0-mini/) [Check](/check/aion-labs__aion-3.0-mini/) | — | — | | [Anthropic: Claude Fable 5](/models/anthropic__claude-fable-5/) [Check](/check/anthropic__claude-fable-5/) | high | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [Anthropic: Claude Fable 5 (batch)](/models/anthropic__claude-fable-5__batch/) | high | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1](/models/anthropic__claude-fable-5.1/) [Check](/check/anthropic__claude-fable-5.1/) | high | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1 (batch)](/models/anthropic__claude-fable-5.1__batch/) | high | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [Anthropic: Claude Opus 5.5](/models/anthropic__claude-opus-5.5/) [Check](/check/anthropic__claude-opus-5.5/) | high | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [Anthropic: Claude Opus 5.5 (batch)](/models/anthropic__claude-opus-5.5__batch/) | high | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [Anthropic: Claude Sonnet 5.5](/models/anthropic__claude-sonnet-5.5/) [Check](/check/anthropic__claude-sonnet-5.5/) | high | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [Anthropic: Claude Sonnet 5.5 (batch)](/models/anthropic__claude-sonnet-5.5__batch/) | high | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [Arcee AI: Trinity Large Thinking](/models/arcee-ai__trinity-large-thinking/) [Check](/check/arcee-ai__trinity-large-thinking/) | — | — | | [DeepSeek: R1](/models/deepseek__deepseek-r1/) [Check](/check/deepseek__deepseek-r1/) | — | — | | [DeepSeek: R1 0528](/models/deepseek__deepseek-r1-0528/) [Check](/check/deepseek__deepseek-r1-0528/) | — | — | | [Google: Gemini 2.5 Pro](/models/google__gemini-2.5-pro/) [Check](/check/google__gemini-2.5-pro/) | — | — | | [Google: Gemini 2.5 Pro (batch)](/models/google__gemini-2.5-pro__batch/) | — | — | | [Google: Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05](/models/google__gemini-2.5-pro-preview/) [Check](/check/google__gemini-2.5-pro-preview/) | — | — | | [Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview](/models/google__gemini-3.1-pro-preview/) [Check](/check/google__gemini-3.1-pro-preview/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview (batch)](/models/google__gemini-3.1-pro-preview__batch/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools](/models/google__gemini-3.1-pro-preview-customtools/) [Check](/check/google__gemini-3.1-pro-preview-customtools/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [Google: Gemini 3.5 Flash](/models/google__gemini-3.5-flash/) [Check](/check/google__gemini-3.5-flash/) | medium | high, medium, low, minimal | | [Google: Gemini 3.5 Flash (batch)](/models/google__gemini-3.5-flash__batch/) | medium | high, medium, low, minimal | | [Google: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite](/models/google__gemini-3.5-flash-lite/) [Check](/check/google__gemini-3.5-flash-lite/) | minimal | high, medium, low, minimal | | [Google: Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite (batch)](/models/google__gemini-3.5-flash-lite__batch/) | minimal | high, medium, low, minimal | | [Google: Gemini 3.6 Flash](/models/google__gemini-3.6-flash/) [Check](/check/google__gemini-3.6-flash/) | medium | high, medium, low, minimal | | [Google: Gemini 3.6 Flash (batch)](/models/google__gemini-3.6-flash__batch/) | medium | high, medium, low, minimal | | [Google: Gemini 3.7 Flash](/models/google__gemini-3.7-flash/) [Check](/check/google__gemini-3.7-flash/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [Google: Gemini 3.7 Flash (batch)](/models/google__gemini-3.7-flash__batch/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [Google: Gemini 3.8 Flash](/models/google__gemini-3.8-flash/) [Check](/check/google__gemini-3.8-flash/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [Google: Gemini 3.8 Flash (batch)](/models/google__gemini-3.8-flash__batch/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [Google: Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview)](/models/google__gemini-3-pro-image-preview/) [Check](/check/google__gemini-3-pro-image-preview/) | — | — | | [Google: Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image)](/models/google__gemini-3-pro-image/) [Check](/check/google__gemini-3-pro-image/) | — | — | | [LiquidAI: LFM2.5-2.6B (free)](/models/liquid__lfm-2.5-2.6b__free/) | — | — | | [Meta: Muse Glimmer 30B](/models/meta__muse-glimmer-30b/) [Check](/check/meta__muse-glimmer-30b/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium, low | | [Meta: Muse Spark 1.1](/models/meta__muse-spark-1.1/) [Check](/check/meta__muse-spark-1.1/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium, low, minimal | | [Meta: Muse Spark 1.2](/models/meta__muse-spark-1.2/) [Check](/check/meta__muse-spark-1.2/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium, low, minimal | | [Meta: Muse Spark 1.2 Contributor](/models/meta__muse-spark-1.2-contributor/) [Check](/check/meta__muse-spark-1.2-contributor/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium, low, minimal | | [Meta: Muse Spark 1.3](/models/meta__muse-spark-1.3/) [Check](/check/meta__muse-spark-1.3/) | medium | max, xhigh, high, medium, low, minimal | | [Meta: Muse Spark 1.3 Contributor](/models/meta__muse-spark-1.3-contributor/) [Check](/check/meta__muse-spark-1.3-contributor/) | medium | max, xhigh, high, medium, low, minimal | | [MiniMax: MiniMax M2](/models/minimax__minimax-m2/) [Check](/check/minimax__minimax-m2/) | — | — | | [MiniMax: MiniMax M2.1](/models/minimax__minimax-m2.1/) [Check](/check/minimax__minimax-m2.1/) | — | — | | [MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5](/models/minimax__minimax-m2.5/) [Check](/check/minimax__minimax-m2.5/) | — | — | | [MiniMax: MiniMax M2.7](/models/minimax__minimax-m2.7/) [Check](/check/minimax__minimax-m2.7/) | — | — | | [MoonshotAI: Kimi K2 Thinking](/models/moonshotai__kimi-k2-thinking/) [Check](/check/moonshotai__kimi-k2-thinking/) | — | — | | [MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.7 Code](/models/moonshotai__kimi-k2.7-code/) [Check](/check/moonshotai__kimi-k2.7-code/) | — | — | | [OpenAI: GPT-5](/models/openai__gpt-5/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5/) | medium | high, medium, low, minimal | | [OpenAI: GPT-5 (batch)](/models/openai__gpt-5__batch/) | medium | high, medium, low, minimal | | [OpenAI: GPT-5 Image](/models/openai__gpt-5-image/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5-image/) | — | — | | [OpenAI: GPT-5 Image Mini](/models/openai__gpt-5-image-mini/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5-image-mini/) | — | — | | [OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini](/models/openai__gpt-5-mini/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5-mini/) | medium | high, medium, low, minimal | | [OpenAI: GPT-5 Mini (batch)](/models/openai__gpt-5-mini__batch/) | medium | high, medium, low, minimal | | [OpenAI: GPT-5 Nano](/models/openai__gpt-5-nano/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5-nano/) | medium | high, medium, low, minimal | | [OpenAI: GPT-5 Nano (batch)](/models/openai__gpt-5-nano__batch/) | medium | high, medium, low, minimal | | [OpenAI: GPT-5 Pro](/models/openai__gpt-5-pro/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5-pro/) | high | high | | [OpenAI: GPT-5 Pro (batch)](/models/openai__gpt-5-pro__batch/) | high | high | | [OpenAI: GPT-5.1-Codex](/models/openai__gpt-5.1-codex/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5.1-codex/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: GPT-5.1-Codex-Max](/models/openai__gpt-5.1-codex-max/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5.1-codex-max/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: GPT-5.2 Pro](/models/openai__gpt-5.2-pro/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5.2-pro/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium | | [OpenAI: GPT-5.2 Pro (batch)](/models/openai__gpt-5.2-pro__batch/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium | | [OpenAI: GPT-5.2-Codex](/models/openai__gpt-5.2-codex/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5.2-codex/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: GPT-5.4 Pro](/models/openai__gpt-5.4-pro/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5.4-pro/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium | | [OpenAI: GPT-5.4 Pro (batch)](/models/openai__gpt-5.4-pro__batch/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium | | [OpenAI: GPT-5.5 Pro](/models/openai__gpt-5.5-pro/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-5.5-pro/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium | | [OpenAI: GPT-5.5 Pro (batch)](/models/openai__gpt-5.5-pro__batch/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium | | [OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra](/models/openai__gpt-6-astra/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-6-astra/) | medium | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra (batch)](/models/openai__gpt-6-astra__batch/) | medium | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra Pro](/models/openai__gpt-6-astra-pro/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-6-astra-pro/) | medium | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra Pro (batch)](/models/openai__gpt-6-astra-pro__batch/) | medium | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol](/models/openai__gpt-6.1-sol/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-6.1-sol/) | medium | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol Pro](/models/openai__gpt-6.1-sol-pro/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-6.1-sol-pro/) | medium | max, xhigh, high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: gpt-oss-120b](/models/openai__gpt-oss-120b/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-oss-120b/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: gpt-oss-120b (batch)](/models/openai__gpt-oss-120b__batch/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: gpt-oss-20b](/models/openai__gpt-oss-20b/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-oss-20b/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: gpt-oss-20b (batch)](/models/openai__gpt-oss-20b__batch/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [OpenAI: gpt-oss-safeguard-20b](/models/openai__gpt-oss-safeguard-20b/) [Check](/check/openai__gpt-oss-safeguard-20b/) | — | — | | [OpenAI: o3 Mini High](/models/openai__o3-mini-high/) [Check](/check/openai__o3-mini-high/) | high | high | | [OpenAI: o4 Mini High](/models/openai__o4-mini-high/) [Check](/check/openai__o4-mini-high/) | high | high | | [Perplexity: Sonar Pro Search](/models/perplexity__sonar-pro-search/) [Check](/check/perplexity__sonar-pro-search/) | — | — | | [Qwen: Qwen3 235B A22B Thinking 2507](/models/qwen__qwen3-235b-a22b-thinking-2507/) [Check](/check/qwen__qwen3-235b-a22b-thinking-2507/) | — | — | | [Qwen: Qwen3 30B A3B Thinking 2507](/models/qwen__qwen3-30b-a3b-thinking-2507/) [Check](/check/qwen__qwen3-30b-a3b-thinking-2507/) | — | — | | [Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking](/models/qwen__qwen3-next-80b-a3b-thinking/) [Check](/check/qwen__qwen3-next-80b-a3b-thinking/) | — | — | | [Qwen: Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking](/models/qwen__qwen3-vl-235b-a22b-thinking/) [Check](/check/qwen__qwen3-vl-235b-a22b-thinking/) | — | — | | [Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking](/models/qwen__qwen3-vl-30b-a3b-thinking/) [Check](/check/qwen__qwen3-vl-30b-a3b-thinking/) | — | — | | [Qwen: Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking](/models/qwen__qwen3-vl-8b-thinking/) [Check](/check/qwen__qwen3-vl-8b-thinking/) | — | — | | [Qwen: Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B](/models/qwen__qwen3.8-2.4t-a95b/) [Check](/check/qwen__qwen3.8-2.4t-a95b/) | xhigh | xhigh, medium, low | | [Qwen: Qwen3.8 Max (0902)](/models/qwen__qwen3.8-max-0902/) [Check](/check/qwen__qwen3.8-max-0902/) | xhigh | xhigh, high, medium, low, minimal | | [Qwen: Qwen3.8 Max Prime](/models/qwen__qwen3.8-max-prime/) [Check](/check/qwen__qwen3.8-max-prime/) | xhigh | xhigh, high, medium, low, minimal | | [Reka Flash 3](/models/rekaai__reka-flash-3/) [Check](/check/rekaai__reka-flash-3/) | — | — | | [Sakana: Fugu Max](/models/sakana__fugu-max/) [Check](/check/sakana__fugu-max/) | high | max, xhigh, high | | [Sakana: Fugu Ultra](/models/sakana__fugu-ultra/) [Check](/check/sakana__fugu-ultra/) | xhigh | max, xhigh, high | | [Sakana: Fugu Ultra v2](/models/sakana__fugu-ultra-v2/) [Check](/check/sakana__fugu-ultra-v2/) | xhigh | max, xhigh, high | | [SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent](/models/x-ai__grok-4.20-multi-agent/) [Check](/check/x-ai__grok-4.20-multi-agent/) | medium | xhigh, high, medium, low | | [SpaceXAI: Grok 4.5](/models/x-ai__grok-4.5/) [Check](/check/x-ai__grok-4.5/) | high | high, medium, low | | [SpaceXAI: Grok 4.6](/models/x-ai__grok-4.6/) [Check](/check/x-ai__grok-4.6/) | high | xhigh, high, medium, low | | [SpaceXAI: Grok 4.7](/models/x-ai__grok-4.7/) [Check](/check/x-ai__grok-4.7/) | high | xhigh, high, medium, low | | [SpaceXAI: Grok Build 0.1](/models/x-ai__grok-build-0.1/) [Check](/check/x-ai__grok-build-0.1/) | — | — | | [StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash](/models/stepfun__step-3.5-flash/) [Check](/check/stepfun__step-3.5-flash/) | — | — | | [StepFun: Step 3.7 Flash](/models/stepfun__step-3.7-flash/) [Check](/check/stepfun__step-3.7-flash/) | medium | high, medium, low | | [Z.ai: GLM 5.3](/models/z-ai__glm-5.3/) [Check](/check/z-ai__glm-5.3/) | max | max, high, low | | [Z.ai: GLM 5.3 (batch)](/models/z-ai__glm-5.3__batch/) | max | max, high, low | | [Z.ai: GLM 5.3 Flash](/models/z-ai__glm-5.3-flash/) [Check](/check/z-ai__glm-5.3-flash/) | max | max, high, low | | [Z.ai: GLM 5.3 Flash (batch)](/models/z-ai__glm-5.3-flash__batch/) | max | max, high, low | | [Z.ai: GLM 5.3 FlashX](/models/z-ai__glm-5.3-flashx/) [Check](/check/z-ai__glm-5.3-flashx/) | max | max, high, low | | [Z.ai: GLM 5.3 Prime](/models/z-ai__glm-5.3-prime/) [Check](/check/z-ai__glm-5.3-prime/) | max | max, high, low | All 106 mandatory-reasoning entries are shown, including delivery variants. Check is available for standard-delivery models. Copy evidence Download CSV · 106 rows [Input hashes & method version](/data/publications/manifests/ecef83f767cd4d2c21766f6a5b4dffa36c06351f23657542d473bc1a030c0932.json) Read citation text and BibTeX 82 of 364 publishable models (23%) declare mandatory reasoning: 106 of 447 catalogue entries, delivery variants included. 242 models declare reasoning support; 160 support optional reasoning. Vendor declarations are not a measured reasoning-cost estimate. As of 2026-10-06. Lens: Vendor reasoning declarations in the accepted OpenRouter-derived catalogue. https://undominated.ai/effort/ Method: https://undominated.ai/methodology/ Publication: sha256:ecef83f767cd4d2c21766f6a5b4dffa36c06351f23657542d473bc1a030c0932; calculation SHA-256: 5ae4d0bee9b70298dd437b05df87c32acb407040b50bf88240677f295f25955d; permitted inputs: https://undominated.ai/data/publications/manifests/ecef83f767cd4d2c21766f6a5b4dffa36c06351f23657542d473bc1a030c0932.json Copy BibTeX Download citation @misc{undominated-effort-2026-10-06, author = {{Undominated.ai}}, title = {effort evidence — Undominated.ai}, year = {2026}, url = {https://undominated.ai/effort/}, note = {as of 2026-10-06; Vendor reasoning declarations in the accepted OpenRouter-derived catalogue}, annote = {Publication: sha256:ecef83f767cd4d2c21766f6a5b4dffa36c06351f23657542d473bc1a030c0932; calculation SHA-256: 5ae4d0bee9b70298dd437b05df87c32acb407040b50bf88240677f295f25955d; permitted inputs: https://undominated.ai/data/publications/manifests/ecef83f767cd4d2c21766f6a5b4dffa36c06351f23657542d473bc1a030c0932.json} } ## Continue your investigation - [Traps](/traps/) - [Quality knee](/knee/) - [Context cliffs](/cliffs/) - [Reasoning-token prices](/reasoning-price/) - [Methodology](/methodology/)