Vibe coding means you describe what you want, the AI builds it, and you judge the result by how it feels to use, not by reading the code. The best AI for that is the one whose first attempt you would keep. So we tested exactly that, one prompt and no edits, across eight builds. Start with the purest vibe brief of all: invent something and make it memorable.
Which AI is best for vibe coding?
Claude Opus 5.5 for the best single attempt, GPT-6.1 Sol for the best attempts per dollar. The live table aggregates every build on this site.
| Model | Briefs finished | Median wall time | Output tokens, all briefs | Average API-equivalent cost per build | Runtime errors | Interrupted attempts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 5.5 | 7 of 8 | 1h 14m | 1.8M (+1 not recorded) | $14.53 | 0 | 5 |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | 8 of 8 | 36m 57s | 1.3M | $13.85 | 0 | 5 |
| GPT-6 Astra | 8 of 8 | 11m 29s | 340k | $3.90 | 0 | 0 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | 8 of 8 | 12m 05s | 394k | $0.80 | 0 | 0 |
- Claude Opus 5.5 produced the most elaborate result on almost every brief: on the vibe brief, a night-train site with a flip clock, berth prices and synthesised sound. It is also the slowest, up to 150 minutes on the hardest brief.
- Claude Fable 5.1 produced calmer, more restrained work, a sky lamp on a dusky page, in about half Opus's time.
- GPT-6.1 Sol delivered a working build on every brief in 7 to 20 minutes for about a dollar each at list prices. Its results are clean and safe.
- GPT-6 Astra built work very close to Sol's at five times the token price, which makes it hard to recommend for vibe coding.
What makes an AI good at vibe coding?
Three things, in order. It must finish: a vibe coder cannot fix a half-built app. It must make good choices you did not specify, because a vibe prompt leaves most decisions open. And it must be cheap or fast enough to try again. On finishing, all four models passed every brief. On choices, the Claude models were bolder and the two GPT models often made the same choice twice, from typefaces to product ideas. On cost and speed, GPT-6.1 Sol has no rival here.
Which vibe coding AI fits you?
Match the model to how you work.
| You are… | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Building something to show people tomorrow | Claude Opus 5.5 | The richest first attempt |
| Exploring ten ideas this afternoon | GPT-6.1 Sol | Ten attempts cost about what one Claude attempt does |
| After a calm, tasteful result | Claude Fable 5.1 | Restrained design, faster than Opus |
| On a ChatGPT Plus plan already | GPT-6 Astra | Included in your plan; similar to Sol |
Prices per million tokens are on Anthropic's pricing page and OpenAI's GPT-6.1 Sol page.
How do you vibe code well with any of them?
Keep the look open and the requirements exact. Our vibe brief left the product and the style entirely to the model but was specific about structure: real copy, sections, a phone layout and no external images. All four sites that came back work on a phone. To see more one-shot results, browse the vibe-coded websites and vibe-coded apps, or go straight to the briefs.
Judge the vibe without the names: four invented products, pick your favourite first.
Take the blind test
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI for vibe coding?
Claude Opus 5.5 if you want the most complete, most surprising result from a single prompt and can wait up to an hour. GPT-6.1 Sol if you want quick, cheap attempts you can repeat until one lands. Both delivered working builds on every one of our briefs.
Is vibe coding with AI reliable?
More than you might expect. Across eight briefs, from a landing page to a top-down MOBA, every model produced a working build in one attempt with no runtime errors in our recordings. What varies is ambition and polish, not whether it runs.
Do I need to know how to code to vibe code?
Not to get a working result: everything here was produced with no human edits. Knowing what to ask for helps a lot, and the prompts on our brief pages are a good template for describing structure precisely while leaving the look open.
How much does vibe coding cost?
On a subscription, it comes out of your plan's limits. At list API prices, a GPT-6.1 Sol build cost us $0.54 to $1.12 and a Claude build $7 to $21. Agent sessions use many tokens, so heavy vibe coders hit subscription limits quickly.