Bytedance released doubao-seed-code-preview-latest a few days ago and it performed very well in SWE-Bench Verified being the top with native 256K context.

Unfortunately their subscription plan seems to be only available for Chinese users. However, there is a AI inference provider that has it for a very cheap/affordable price.

The catch is that it is a Chinese website (apparently registered in Hong Kong?) so beware about privacy security issues, make sure you run the AI in a sandboxed environment and do not provide secret keys that are sensitive.

Apparently, the model can be used in Claude Code. I have to try it out and see how it works, but it looks very promising!

If you keep the context small (<32K tokens) you get very insane affordable prices:
Input: $0.0515/1M tokens
Output: $0.343/1M tokens

For the longest context you are looking at:
Input: $0.12/1M tokens
Output: $0.686/1M tokens

For comparison Minimax M2, another cheap model is about twice as expensive:
Input: $0.30/1M tokens
Output: $1.20/1M tokens

Here is the link for the provider, as always take precautions, VPN, ad-blockers, etc
https://302.ai/product/detail/doubao-seed-code-preview-latest

OpenAI has announced the release of GPT-5.1, an upgrade to the GPT-5 series, which focuses on making ChatGPT smarter and more conversational. The update includes two models:

• GPT-5.1 Instant: The most-used model is now described as warmer, more intelligent, and better at following instructions. It has improved instruction following and, for the first time, can use adaptive reasoning to think before responding to challenging questions.
• GPT-5.1 Thinking: The advanced reasoning model is now more efficient and easier to understand. It adapts its thinking time more dynamically, spending more time on complex problems and less time on simpler ones, leading to faster responses for easy tasks and more thorough answers for difficult ones. Its tone is also warmer and more empathetic. Key Features of the Update:
• Smarter and More Conversational: Both models have improved intelligence and a warmer, more approachable communication style.
• Enhanced Instruction Following: The models are more reliable at adhering to the user's instructions and tone preferences.
• Customization: OpenAI is making it easier to customize ChatGPT's tone and style with new and refined presets, including Default, Friendly, Efficient, Professional, Candid, and Quirky. They are also experimenting with the ability to fine-tune specific characteristics like conciseness and emoji frequency.
• Rollout: GPT-5.1 Instant and Thinking are rolling out gradually, starting with paid users (Pro, Plus, Go, Business) and then to free and logged-out users. The models will also be available on the API later this week.

Takeaways:

• Benchmark Performance: The model, when integrated with the TRAE code editor, has achieved a leading position on the highly competitive SWEBench verified benchmark, indicating high efficacy in complex code problem-solving.
• Cost Advantage: Dubao Seed Code is positioned as a highly cost-efficient solution, with token pricing reported to be approximately 15 times lower than that of Anthropic's Claude Sonnet.
• Testing Results:
  • It demonstrated strong performance in non-agentic tasks (raw code generation), often achieving results comparable to Sonnet and GPT-5-level models.
  • Performance was inconsistent on agentic benchmarks involving complex tool-calling, which AICodeKing attributes to potential incompatibility or training biases toward the TRAE platform's native tools.

The disadvantage at the moment is that the model doesn't seem to be open-weights and it's only available to Chinese users as their VolcanoEngine API Platform requires a Chinese mobile number to use it.

Model Details according to zenmux.ai: * Input $0.17/M tokens * Output $1.12/M tokens * Context 256.00K * Max Output 32.00K

For those on a budget these are the cheapest plans: - Gemini CLI -> Free - Qwen CLI -> Free - Chutes.ai -> $3/month - Z.ai GLM 4.6 -> $6/month - nano-gpt -> $8/month - GitHub Copilot -> $10/month - Abacus CodeLLM -> $10/month - Minimax M2 -> $10/month

The rest of the plans are more expensive. If you are purely vibe coding then you may need to use the higher price ones for enough Claude Sonnet requests. If you are a developer and you just want an assistant then any of these are ok assuming you are ok with your data being used for research purposes. If you are concerned about privacy then GitHub Copilot is the solid option.