| name | artificial-analysis |
| description | Query Artificial Analysis API to compare LLM benchmarks, pricing, and speed. Use when exploring which AI model to use for a task, comparing model performance, or checking pricing/speed tradeoffs. |
Artificial Analysis
Query the Artificial Analysis free API to compare AI models on benchmarks, pricing, and speed. Useful when deciding which LLM (or image/video/speech model) to use for a specific task.
Setup
Requires an API key set as ARTIFICIAL_ANALYSIS_API_KEY environment variable.
- Create an account at https://artificialanalysis.ai/login
- Generate an API key from the Insights Platform
- Set the env var (fish:
set -Ux ARTIFICIAL_ANALYSIS_API_KEY "your-key")
API Reference
Full docs (endpoints, fields, response formats): https://artificialanalysis.ai/api-reference#free-api
Rate limit: 1,000 requests/day. The rate limit is strict and resets slowly — avoid burst calls. Always cache responses to a temp file (e.g., /tmp/aa_models.json) and reuse them instead of making repeated API calls. Only fetch fresh data if no cached file exists or the user explicitly asks to refresh.
Endpoints
LLMs — benchmarks, pricing, speed
curl -s "https://artificialanalysis.ai/api/v2/data/llms/models" \
-H "x-api-key: $ARTIFICIAL_ANALYSIS_API_KEY" | python3 -m json.tool
Key response fields: evaluations (benchmark scores), pricing (per 1M tokens), median_output_tokens_per_second, median_time_to_first_token_seconds.
Text-to-Image — ELO ratings
curl -s "https://artificialanalysis.ai/api/v2/data/media/text-to-image" \
-H "x-api-key: $ARTIFICIAL_ANALYSIS_API_KEY"
Add ?include_categories=true for per-category ELO breakdown.
Image Editing — ELO ratings
curl -s "https://artificialanalysis.ai/api/v2/data/media/image-editing" \
-H "x-api-key: $ARTIFICIAL_ANALYSIS_API_KEY"
Text-to-Speech — ELO ratings
curl -s "https://artificialanalysis.ai/api/v2/data/media/text-to-speech" \
-H "x-api-key: $ARTIFICIAL_ANALYSIS_API_KEY"
Text-to-Video — ELO ratings
curl -s "https://artificialanalysis.ai/api/v2/data/media/text-to-video" \
-H "x-api-key: $ARTIFICIAL_ANALYSIS_API_KEY"
Add ?include_categories=true for per-category breakdown.
Image-to-Video — ELO ratings
curl -s "https://artificialanalysis.ai/api/v2/data/media/image-to-video" \
-H "x-api-key: $ARTIFICIAL_ANALYSIS_API_KEY"
Add ?include_categories=true for per-category breakdown.
Tips
-
The free API does not include openness/licensing data. When filtering for open-weight models, use web searches to verify which models are actually open before presenting results.
-
Use jq to filter/sort results (e.g., | jq '.data | sort_by(.pricing.price_1m_blended_3_to_1)')
-
For LLMs, compare evaluations.artificial_analysis_intelligence_index against pricing.price_1m_blended_3_to_1 for value analysis
-
Use model id fields as stable identifiers — name and slug may change
-
Attribution required: link to https://artificialanalysis.ai/ when sharing data
When to Use
- Comparing LLMs for a specific use case (coding, math, general intelligence)
- Evaluating price/performance tradeoffs between models
- Checking which model is fastest (tokens/sec, time to first token)
- Comparing image, video, or speech generation models
