Mimo V2.5 matches Claude Opus at 1/60th the cost
Scoring 49 on the AI intelligence index for just $49 — a new budget king emerges.
A new contender is quietly dominating the cost-to-intelligence ratio in the AI API market. Mimo V2.5 (non-pro) achieves a score of 49 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, essentially tying with Claude Opus 4.5 at 49.7. But the real headline is price: Mimo V2.5 costs just $49 per benchmark run, compared to Claude Opus 4.5 at $2,969 and Gemini 3.1 Pro at $892. Even Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite, which scores only 33.5, costs $94 — nearly double for far less intelligence.
Beyond raw benchmarks, users report better agentic performance: Mimo V2.5 follows through on tasks more reliably than Gemini and rarely hallucinates task completion. Running via the Qwen CLI (a fork of Gemini CLI optimized for third-party models), latency is excellent for agentic loops. For larger agentic workflows, the Pro version ($161, score 53.8) offers even more capability, but the non-pro version already delivers heavyweight-level reasoning at a price that makes burning tokens feel comfortable. This is the first API where a sub-$100 model competes seriously with the incumbents while staying lucid and on-task.
- Mimo V2.5 scores 49 vs. Claude Opus 4.5's 49.7, but costs $49 vs. $2,969 — a 60x price difference.
- It outperforms Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite (score 33.5, $94) at half the cost with better task follow-through.
- Runs agentic loops efficiently via Qwen CLI, making it ideal for cost-conscious developers building agents.
Why It Matters
Democratizing agentic AI: top-tier reasoning at a tenth of the price, enabling broader experimentation and deployment.