Best AI Model for Legal (November 2026) — Live SOTA Ranking
As of Nov 3, 2026, no model holds the Legal crown on isitsota. Gemini 4 Carbon ranks #1 on the board, but a crown needs a confirmed lead. The ranking is a weighted score over 1 benchmark, recomputed automatically (methodology v1.0).
Leading, crown pending confirmation: Gemini 4 Carbon.
Last updated Nov 3, 2026 · Full Legal board: crown history, benchmarks and methodology
Top 10 ranked
| Rank | Model | Lab | Status | Score | Open weights | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gemini 4 Carbon | Google DeepMind | Pending · Legal | — | No | — |
| 2 | Claude Fable 5.1 | Anthropic | #2 in Legal | — | No | $20 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 2 | Claude Opus 5 | Anthropic | #2 in Legal | — | No | $10 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 2 | Muse Spark 1.3 | Meta | #2 in Legal | — | No | $2 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 3 | Gemini 4 Argon | Google DeepMind | #3 in Legal | — | No | $4 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 4 | Muse Wonder Full | Meta | #4 in Legal | — | No | — |
| 5 | Claude Opus 5.5 | Anthropic | #5 in Legal | — | No | $8 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 5 | Muse Wonder | Meta | #5 in Legal | — | No | $8 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 6 | Claude Fable 5 | Anthropic | #6 in Legal | — | No | $20 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 7 | GLM 5.3 | Zhipu AI | #7 in Legal | — | Yes | $0.96 / 1M tokens (blended) |
Score is the weighted category score (the top model scores 100). Prices are the latest observed list prices.
Budget, open-weights and local picks
- Best on a budget: GLM 5.3. Cheapest of the 8 priced models in the top 10: $0.96 per 1M tokens, ranked #7.
- Best open-weights: GLM 5.3. #1 on the open-weights board (license: MIT). See the board.
- Best to run locally (≤32B): Qwen3.8 27B. #1 among models at or under 32B, 27B parameters. See the board.
Ranks
Last crown changes
Crown changes for this board are still empty as of Nov 3, 2026.
Which benchmarks count
- Legal Research Bench — primary, weight 1
How we decide
Legal is ranked by a weighted score over 1 benchmark: Legal Research Bench (primary, weight 1).
Only validated results count. A new #1 takes the crown once its lead is confirmed by a second signal; until then the page says the crown is pending.
The verdict engine re-checks its sources every hour and records each crown change with its date.
Popular comparisons
Who is SOTA in Legal?
As of Nov 3, 2026, Legal is uncrowned on isitsota (methodology v1.0).
Since when is the Legal crown current?
As of Nov 3, 2026, Legal has an open crown.
What is the best open-weights model for Legal?
As of Nov 3, 2026, GLM 5.3: #1 on the open-weights board (license: MIT).
What is the best Legal model I can run locally?
As of Nov 3, 2026, Qwen3.8 27B: #1 among models at or under 32B, 27B parameters.
What is the cheapest top-10 model for Legal?
As of Nov 3, 2026, GLM 5.3. Cheapest of the 8 priced models in the top 10: $0.96 per 1M tokens, ranked #7.
Which benchmarks decide Legal?
Legal is ranked by a weighted score over 1 benchmark: Legal Research Bench (primary, weight 1).
How often is this ranking updated?
Every hour, automatically. The board last changed on Nov 3, 2026.