Best AI Model for SQL & Database Queries
Generating SQL queries, database optimization, schema design, and data modeling. Needs code ability and structured output.
Our Verdict
Claude Sonnet 4.6 generates the most reliable SQL with good schema understanding at $3/$15. For budget SQL generation, o3 at $0.40/$1.60 with 94.5% HumanEval handles complex joins well. GPT-4o Mini at $0.15/$0.60 is sufficient for simple CRUD queries. Don't overthink this — most mid-tier models generate correct SQL for common patterns. Flagship models only matter for complex optimization queries.
Top Picks
Reliable SQL generation with good schema understanding
Best for: Production SQL generation
Input
$3/1M
Output
$15/1M
Context
200K
Max Output
16K
Input
$0.4/1M
Output
$1.6/1M
Context
200K
Max Output
100K
Input
$0.15/1M
Output
$0.6/1M
Context
128K
Max Output
16K
What Matters for SQL/Database
Key Factors
- •Code generation quality
- •Structured output
- •HumanEval score
Tips
- ✓Most mid-tier models generate accurate SQL for common patterns
- ✓Complex joins and optimization benefit from flagship models
- ✓Budget models handle simple CRUD queries just fine
Full Ranking (All Compatible Models)
| Rank | Model | Input | Output | HumanEval | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | o3OpenAI | $0.40 | $1.60 | 94.5% | 129 |
| #2 | GPT-4o MiniOpenAI | $0.15 | $0.60 | 87.2% | 124 |
| #3 | Gemini 2.5 FlashGoogle | $0.15 | $0.60 | 89.5% | 115 |
| #4 | Gemini 3 FlashGoogle | $0.50 | $3.00 | 90% | 109 |
| #5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6Anthropic | $3.00 | $15.00 | 94% | 105 |
| #6 | Gemini 2.5 ProGoogle | $1.25 | $10.00 | 93.5% | 101 |
| #7 | GLM-5Zhipu AI | $1.00 | $3.20 | 91% | 98 |
| #8 | o4-miniOpenAI | $1.10 | $4.40 | 93.5% | 97 |
| #9 | Mistral Medium 3Mistral | $0.40 | $2.00 | 87% | 95 |
| #10 | Gemini 3.1 ProGoogle | $2.00 | $12.00 | 95% | 89 |
| #11 | Claude Haiku 4.5Anthropic | $0.80 | $4.00 | 88.1% | 89 |
| #12 | Gemini 3 ProGoogle | $2.00 | $12.00 | 94% | 89 |
| #13 | MiniMax M2.5MiniMax | $0.30 | $1.20 | 90% | 88 |
| #14 | GPT-5.2 CodexOpenAI | $1.75 | $14.00 | 95.5% | 88 |
| #15 | GPT-5.3 CodexOpenAI | $2.00 | $16.00 | 96.5% | 86 |
| #16 | DeepSeek R1DeepSeek | $0.55 | $2.19 | 92% | 86 |
| #17 | GPT-4oOpenAI | $2.50 | $10.00 | 91% | 84 |
| #18 | GLM-4.7Zhipu AI | $0.60 | $2.20 | 85.0% | 83 |
| #19 | Claude Sonnet 4.5Anthropic | $3.00 | $15.00 | 93% | 80 |
| #20 | Mistral Large 3Mistral | $2.00 | $5.00 | 91% | 80 |
| #21 | Llama 4 MaverickMeta | $0.31 | $0.85 | 90.2% | 79 |
| #22 | Llama 4 ScoutMeta | $0.18 | $0.63 | 86% | 79 |
| #23 | GPT-5OpenAI | $1.25 | $10.00 | 95% | 77 |
| #24 | DeepSeek V3DeepSeek | $0.14 | $0.28 | 89% | 77 |
| #25 | Grok 4xAI | $3.00 | $15.00 | 93% | 70 |
| #26 | Claude Opus 4.6Anthropic | $5.00 | $25.00 | 95% | 68 |