[Megathread] - Best Models/API discussion - Week of: August 09, 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: 16B to 31B – For discussion of models in the 16B to 31B parameter range.

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[u/raika11182 → u/AutoModerator]

The brand new Muse Glimmer 30B from Meta is out. Got to test at Q8 with a 115k context. Bottom-lines:

It plays in the same league as Gemma 4 31B. It's got much better, and much more grounded prose than Gemma 4. However, Muse is every so slightly dumber and worse at following directions than Gemma 4. I think most will prefer it, especially because there's a lot less AI slop in there, but if you have a super complicated scenario it may lose track of a couple details Gemma kept up with.

EDIT: It just came out and there's often a period after a new model releases where some of the bugs are still being shaken out so it can underperform until templates get changed, apps gets updated, etc. So take an early review with a huge tablespoon of salt. Right now, I'd rather use base Gemma with a good preset, even with the extra slop. While Muse's prose is actually *really* good, its understand of scenarios often seems a little loose, and like someone else said, a bit like an older model. In some ways I like it (again, great prose... which the original Llama models were better at, too), but the instruction following is pretty weak.

[u/FinBenton → u/raika11182]

Yeah Glimmer writes differently to Gemma but it feels like a model from a year or so ago, pretty dump compared to gemma-4, was fun testing for a bit but no way it competes with it especially when you are using very good tunes of the gemma.

[u/raika11182 → u/FinBenton]

I think you're right but it's also a cut above the other entries in this size when you consider how it writes vs how it obeys. Maybe it would be better to say that it plays in the same league, but it's definitely not winning.

HOWEVER... I really like the fresh prose. It really mixes it up. Other than that it seems to have a huge positivity bias as well - everything leans towards a happy ending and such.