# 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

Category board: https://isitsota.com/c/legal

## Top 10 ranked

| Rank | Model | Lab | Status | Score | Open weights | Price |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Gemini 4 Carbon](https://isitsota.com/m/gemini-4-carbon) | Google DeepMind | Pending · Legal | — | No | — |
| 2 | [Claude Fable 5.1](https://isitsota.com/m/claude-fable-5-1) | Anthropic | #2 in Legal | — | No | $20 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 2 | [Claude Opus 5](https://isitsota.com/m/claude-opus-5) | Anthropic | #2 in Legal | — | No | $10 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 2 | [Muse Spark 1.3](https://isitsota.com/m/muse-spark-1-3) | Meta | #2 in Legal | — | No | $2 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 3 | [Gemini 4 Argon](https://isitsota.com/m/gemini-4-argon) | Google DeepMind | #3 in Legal | — | No | $4 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 4 | [Muse Wonder Full](https://isitsota.com/m/muse-wonder-full) | Meta | #4 in Legal | — | No | — |
| 5 | [Claude Opus 5.5](https://isitsota.com/m/claude-opus-5-5) | Anthropic | #5 in Legal | — | No | $8 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 5 | [Muse Wonder](https://isitsota.com/m/muse-wonder) | Meta | #5 in Legal | — | No | $8 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 6 | [Claude Fable 5](https://isitsota.com/m/claude-fable-5) | Anthropic | #6 in Legal | — | No | $20 / 1M tokens (blended) |
| 7 | [GLM 5.3](https://isitsota.com/m/glm-5-3) | Zhipu AI | #7 in Legal | — | Yes | $0.96 / 1M tokens (blended) |

## 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).
- Best to run locally (≤32B): Qwen3.8 27B. #1 among models at or under 32B, 27B parameters.

## Top 10

- #1 Gemini 4 Carbon
- #2 Claude Fable 5.1
- #2 Claude Opus 5
- #2 Muse Spark 1.3
- #3 Gemini 4 Argon
- #4 Muse Wonder Full
- #5 Claude Opus 5.5
- #5 Muse Wonder
- #6 Claude Fable 5
- #7 GLM 5.3

## Crown changes


## Weights

- 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.
Methodology: https://isitsota.com/methodology

## Popular comparisons

- [Claude Opus 5.5 vs Gemini 4 Argon](https://isitsota.com/compare/claude-opus-5-5-vs-gemini-4-argon)
- [Claude Opus 5.5 vs Muse Wonder](https://isitsota.com/compare/claude-opus-5-5-vs-muse-wonder)
- [Gemini 4 Argon vs Muse Wonder](https://isitsota.com/compare/gemini-4-argon-vs-muse-wonder)
- [Claude Opus 5.5 vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://isitsota.com/compare/claude-opus-5-5-vs-gemini-4-carbon)
- [Claude Fable 5.1 vs Claude Opus 5.5](https://isitsota.com/compare/claude-fable-5-1-vs-claude-opus-5-5)
- [Gemini 4 Argon vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://isitsota.com/compare/gemini-4-argon-vs-gemini-4-carbon)

## FAQ

### 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.