Best AI Model for Roleplay (2026)
Ranked by the multi-turn category of Text Arena, which scores long back and forth conversations. LMArena has no roleplay category, so this is the closest public measure.
Best quality
Highest Text Arena multi-turn score. Shown as a 0 to 100 relative score.
Highest Text Arena multi-turn rating of the 25 models we price. $4.00 per 1M tokens blended.
Ranked 2 of 25, relative score 71. $8.00 per 1M tokens blended.
Ranked 3 of 25, relative score 37. $1.50 per 1M tokens blended.
Best value
Relative score divided by blended price. Only models at or above the median of the models we price qualify.
Relative score 100 for $4.00 per 1M tokens, close to Gemini 4 Argon on price.
Relative score 37 for $1.50 per 1M tokens, 3x cheaper than Gemini 4 Argon.
Relative score 22 for $2.00 per 1M tokens, 2x cheaper than Gemini 4 Argon.
About the 0 to 100 score: Relative score: 100 is the top model we price on Text Arena multi-turn, 0 is the 50th ranked model on the full leaderboard. Raw scores differ by leaderboard, so we rescale them.
Run it locally
Open models from our local finder, ranked on the same leaderboard. Private, no API bill.
Highest score of the open models in our local finder on this leaderboard.
17 points behind the top open model here.
139 points behind the top open model here.
Leaderboard used: Text Arena multi-turn (proxy, no roleplay category exists). Multi-turn rewards staying consistent over long conversations, which matters for characters, but it is not a roleplay test. Content rules differ by provider: see which AI models allow mature content.
Scores: LMArena Text Arena multi-turn, leaderboard published Oct 15, 2026, via the LMArena leaderboard dataset (CC BY 4.0). Prices: our API prices table. Checked Oct 16, 2026.
How we pick
Quality is the LMArena score for each task, built from blind side by side human votes. Where a model is listed at several effort levels we use its best one. Value divides the score above the 50th ranked model on that leaderboard by the blended price, (3 x input + output) / 4 per 1M tokens, and only counts models at or above the median score of the models we price. Local picks use the same Text Arena score and the Q4 download size. Close scores are often inside the margin of error, so treat ranks 1 to 3 as a shortlist, not a final verdict.
Other good references: SWE-bench for fixing real code issues, Aider leaderboards for code editing, and each provider's model card.
FAQ
Which AI model is best for roleplay?
On long multi-turn conversations, Gemini 4 Argon scores highest among the models we price. Gemini 4 Argon is the best value.
Which models allow mature roleplay?
Policies differ a lot by provider. See our factual comparison of official content policies, linked on this page.
Other tasks
Coding · Chat · Creative writing · Reasoning and math · Vision · Long documents · Cheap bulk and agents · Local and private
Compare every price on API prices, or find what runs on your own hardware with the local model finder.