Which AI protects an MSP’s money best?
We score models on a messy managed IT provider’s problems in a private evaluation,
then index that score with the public benchmarks closest to real operations work.
Ranking // Dollars Protected Index · $ per task
- [ 1 ]Claude Opus 5.5 Anthropic$883,722 of $1,000,000 protected73$8.71
- [ 2 ]Claude Fable 5.1 Anthropic$859,214 of $1,000,000 protected67$14.68
- [ 3 ]Claude Sonnet 5.5 Anthropic$799,722 of $1,000,000 protected61$3.62
- [ 4 ]GPT-6.1 Sol OpenAI$792,111 of $1,000,000 protected56$0.93
- [ 5 ]GPT-6 Astra OpenAI$781,778 of $1,000,000 protected58$5.14
- [ 6 ]Gemini 4 Argon Google$668,167 of $1,000,000 protected53$6.83
- [ 7 ]Muse Wonder Meta$642,167 of $1,000,000 protected54$5.85
- [ 8 ]Grok 4.7 xAI$632,167 of $1,000,000 protected50$3.84
- [ 9 ]Kimi K3 Moonshot AI$613,167 of $1,000,000 protected42$3.60
- [ 10 ]GLM 5.3 Z.ai$588,667 of $1,000,000 protected43$3.16
- [ 11 ]DeepSeek V4.1 Flash DeepSeek$561,083 of $1,000,000 protected40$0.38
- [ 12 ]Gemini 3.8 Flash Google$486,333 of $1,000,000 protected28$1.81
- [ 13 ]Muse Spark Open Meta$0 of $1,000,000 protected19$12.98
Leaderboard
| # | Model | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Claude Opus 5.5Anthropic | 73 (best)$8.71 | $883,72222 min | 77 (best)$14.55 | 1695 (best)$7.65 | 1710$2.20 | 63.1$0.74 | 67.0$32.14 |
| 02 | Claude Fable 5.1Anthropic | 67$14.68 | $859,21423 min | 72$24.17 | 1588$12.59 | 1637$4.29 | 55.9$1.87 | 65.8$28.71 |
| 03 | Claude Sonnet 5.5Anthropic | 61$3.62 | $799,72222 min | 60$5.74 | 1611$3.88 | 1535$0.99 | 59.9$0.33 | 67.0$21.34 |
| 04 | GPT-6.1 SolOpenAI | 56$0.93 | $792,11131 min | 59$1.45 | 1448$0.78 | 1476$0.41 | 64.6$0.23 | 61.2$3.24 |
| 05 | GPT-6 AstraOpenAI | 58$5.14 | $781,77822 min | 58$7.63 | 1504$5.09 | 1521$2.43 | 66.1$1.30 | 63.1$18.46 |
| 06 | Gemini 4 ArgonGoogle | 53$6.83 | $668,16726 min | 34$11.42 | 1488$5.83 | 1624$1.82 | 77.5 (best)$0.61 | 68.9 (best)$15.68 |
| 07 | Muse WonderMeta | 54$5.85 | $642,1676 min | 29$5.62 | 1659$12.45 | 1770 (best)$4.89 | 68.1$0.83 | 61.1$11.43 |
| 08 | Grok 4.7xAI | 50$3.84 | $632,16723 min | 26$3.05 | 1634$7.42 | 1708$5.22 | 63.5$0.96 | 54.9$12.12 |
| 09 | Kimi K3Moonshot AI | 42$3.60 | $613,16739 min | 24$4.08 | 1501$6.73 | 1533$2.15 | 58.3$0.63 | 50.3$6.44 |
| 10 | GLM 5.3Z.ai | 43$3.16 | $588,66732 min | 18$3.58 | 1508$5.65 | 1650$2.26 | 62.2$0.46 | 53.5$7.25 |
| 11 | DeepSeek V4.1 FlashDeepSeek | 40$0.38 | $561,08317 min | 17$0.42 | 1422$0.57 | 1600$0.30 | 68.9$0.17 | 51.3$0.33 |
| 12 | Gemini 3.8 FlashGoogle | 28$1.81 | $486,33314 min | 5$2.05 | 1203$2.70 | 1436$1.69 | 59.9$0.42 | 54.8$5.73 |
| 13 | Muse Spark OpenMeta | 19$12.98 | $060 min | 0$26.59 | 1280$1.47 | 1401$0.69 | 49.7$0.46 | — (not listed yet)— |
MSP Bench runs are scored on version 1.1, and run to run shows them all. Highlighted: the best in its column. Muse Spark Open isn’t on the Vals Index yet, so its index weighs the other four.
Cost Frontier
Most attractive quadrantPareto line
Pareto optimal Index
- Claude Opus 5.573$8.71 / task
- Claude Sonnet 5.561$3.62 / task
- GPT-6.1 Sol56$0.93 / task
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash40$0.38 / task
Run to run
MSP Bench score
Dollars protected
The benchmarks
What goes into the index
- 40%100problems
MSP Bench
One managed IT provider's tickets, billing, backups, client accounts, scripts and contracts, with 100 hidden problems that put $1,000,000 at risk. Score is the money a model protects beyond the basics.
Ours · kept private - 15%91tasks
AA-Briefcase
Multi-week office projects built from piles of real files: emails, chat threads, meeting notes, spreadsheets. Graded on the reports the model hands back.
Artificial Analysis · Elo - 15%220tasks
GDPval-AA
Real work products from dozens of occupations, from OpenAI's GDPval, compared head to head on quality.
Artificial Analysis · Elo - 15%657tasks
AutomationBench-AA
Multi-step admin in finance, HR, marketing, operations, sales and support, done inside Gmail, Sheets, Slack, Salesforce and Zendesk.
Artificial Analysis · % of steps done - 15%8benchmarks
Vals Index
Agentic work in finance, coding, law and tax, from financial models in spreadsheets to cited tax research, weighted by each sector's share of the U.S. economy.
Vals AI · % accuracy
Our Methodology
One message from the COO and one folder with everything for the business. 100 problems are hidden in it, with $1,000,000 at risk between them.
“Hi, I’m the COO of Harborline IT, a managed IT provider.
Margins have slipped three quarters in a row, we lost a client last month without seeing it coming, and our cyber insurance renewal questionnaire is due. I’ve attached a folder with everything: our ticket system export, September’s billing, device and backup reports, user lists for our clients, our portal and scripts, contracts, staff and the inbox.
Please go through all of it and fix whatever you can, but don’t break anything that’s working. Clients depend on these systems, so don’t lock anyone out or delete anything you can’t put back. If something needs me, like money we’re owed or a conversation with a client, tell me exactly what’s wrong and which ticket, invoice, agreement or device to look at.
When you’re done, explain it so I can take it to the partners’ meeting: what you found, what you fixed, and what we still need to do.”
- Clients
- 140
- Devices
- 5,450
- Tickets in September
- 1,776
- Spreadsheet rows
- 41,829
billing/16Clients, agreements, invoices, payments, deposits and the bills it payspsa/14The ticket system: September’s tickets, time entries, projects and SLA reportsrmm/11Monitoring: devices, patching, the security agent and open alertsbackup/5Backup jobs, September’s nightly results and restore testsidentity/10Clients’ user accounts, sign-in policies, technicians’ admin accounts and the password vaultnetwork/7Firewall rules, site-to-site tunnels, DNS records and certificatescontracts/14The services agreement, client contracts, cyber insurance and SOC 2 readinessvendors/2Software subscriptions and clients’ domainssales/1The price book quotes usepeople/11Staff, agreements, timesheets, payroll and the on-call rotawebsite/2Pages from the public websiteportal/4The client portal’s code, with its testsscripts/8Onboarding, offboarding, backup, SLA and billing scripts, with tests and logsdocs/3Runbooks and shared mailboxesinbox/26Emails, one per file, and one the COO sent
Claude Opus 5.5GPT-6.1 SolClaude Sonnet 5.5Grok 4.7Gemini 3.8 FlashClaude Fable 5.1GPT-6 AstraMuse WonderGemini 4 ArgonKimi K3GLM 5.3DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
- Security and identity2015161311141315131111129118819171515161015161111131012111110111310109
- Service desk and client inbox181415914129131310881026916111312151261176412111191079986
- Billing and agreements17131311111111410991076661715141411131298161448976106434
- Backups, patching and monitoring16139913121013147691035414138141211811611788895551141
- Contracts, compliance and insurance1514151211111113121199106661314111415136107455101291010913138
- People, payroll and on-call7557564666343312565553333413332332440
- Portal and scripts (code)4444444444444222444444444444333221322
- Vendors, licenses and renewals3333323322222111333323132202222232232
- 1Every model, every run
- 99Caught in some runs, not others
- 0No model, any run
One of the 100Public examples · caught in every run
“The portal shows another client’s tickets if you change the client number in the address”
Portal and scripts (code) · takes an expert’s eye
How the score works
The score is in dollars. Each problem carries what it could cost the business, and the 100 add up to $1,000,000. The score is the share of what a model protects, less what it loses to problems missed, things broken and correct records it calls mistakes.
Scorecards
83 runs · thirteen models Show the scorecardsHide them
Medium effort · 24 runs · with what each caught
Claude Fable 5.1
71 out of 100Mean of three medium runs
82 of 100 caught · $858,167 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 182 out of 10091 caught $911,50022 min $32.64
- Run 278 out of 10083 caught $892,00021 min $34.91
- Run 354 out of 10073 caught $771,00023 min $13.16
Claude Opus 5.5
65 out of 100Mean of three medium runs
76 of 100 caught · $823,167 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 172 out of 10081 caught $859,00024 min $12.38
- Run 269 out of 10080 caught $844,00035 min $12.07
- Run 353 out of 10068 caught $766,50014 min $12.10
GPT-6 Astra
61 out of 100Mean of three medium runs
77 of 100 caught · $805,000 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 163 out of 10081 caught $815,00017 min $5.85
- Run 275 out of 10080 caught $875,50020 min $5.62
- Run 345 out of 10069 caught $724,50019 min $7.15
Claude Sonnet 5.5
52 out of 100Mean of three medium runs
68 of 100 caught · $757,833 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 160 out of 10071 caught $799,00014 min $3.48
- Run 266 out of 10074 caught $827,50014 min $3.42
- Run 329 out of 10060 caught $647,00017 min $4.29
GPT-6.1 Sol
49 out of 100Mean of three medium runs
70 of 100 caught · $744,667 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 151 out of 10072 caught $754,00029 min $1.21
- Run 247 out of 10072 caught $735,00025 min $0.99
- Run 349 out of 10065 caught $745,00026 min $1.08
Grok 4.7
24 out of 100Mean of three medium runs
55 of 100 caught · $622,667 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 121 out of 10052 caught $607,00015 min ~$2.53
- Run 228 out of 10058 caught $642,00014 min ~$3.18
- Run 324 out of 10055 caught $619,00017 min ~$3.49
Gemini 4 Argon
19 out of 100Mean of three medium runs
51 of 100 caught · $597,833 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 124 out of 10058 caught $621,50019 min ~$8.42
- Run 219 out of 10048 caught $596,50012 min ~$5.85
- Run 315 out of 10048 caught $575,50023 min ~$9.57
Gemini 3.8 Flash
0 out of 100Mean of three medium runs
36 of 100 caught · $451,667 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 10 out of 10034 caught $443,50011 min ~$1.72
- Run 20 out of 10035 caught $461,50020 min ~$2.68
- Run 30 out of 10038 caught $450,00012 min ~$2.33
Muse Wonder, Kimi K3, GLM 5.3, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Muse Spark Open weren’t run at medium.
High effort · 37 runs
Claude Opus 5.5
81 out of 100Mean of three high runs
$903,833 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 188 out of 100$939,00017 min $9.30
- Run 285 out of 100$924,00018 min $8.72
- Run 370 out of 100$848,50030 min $16.44
GPT-6 Astra
73 out of 100Mean of three high runs
$862,667 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 180 out of 100$898,00021 min $7.18
- Run 278 out of 100$891,50016 min $9.74
- Run 360 out of 100$798,50022 min $5.98
Claude Fable 5.1
71 out of 100Mean of three high runs
$854,500 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 171 out of 100$853,00024 min $27.52
- Run 272 out of 100$861,50023 min $31.59
- Run 370 out of 100$849,00021 min $15.73
Claude Sonnet 5.5
61 out of 100Mean of three high runs
$803,500 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 184 out of 100$920,50023 min $5.42
- Run 225 out of 100$625,00018 min $5.70
- Run 373 out of 100$865,00023 min $5.62
Gemini 4 Argon
48 out of 100Mean of three high runs
$738,500 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 146 out of 100$732,00031 min ~$15.16
- Run 218 out of 100$588,50038 min ~$16.42
- Run 379 out of 100$895,00031 min ~$13.08
GPT-6.1 Sol
44 out of 100Mean of three high runs
$717,500 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 144 out of 100$718,50031 min $1.23
- Run 235 out of 100$672,50040 min $1.70
- Run 352 out of 100$761,50034 min $1.57
Muse Wonder
29 out of 100Mean of three high runs
57 of 100 caught · $642,167 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 126 out of 10055 caught $628,0009 min $6.32
- Run 253 out of 10067 caught $763,0007 min $4.92
- Run 37 out of 10048 caught $535,5004 min —
Kimi K3
28 out of 100Mean of three high runs
56 of 100 caught · $642,000 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 130 out of 10057 caught $648,00045 min ~$5.90
- Run 232 out of 10059 caught $661,00031 min ~$2.69
- Run 323 out of 10052 caught $617,00043 min ~$3.36
Grok 4.7
26 out of 100Mean of three high runs
$632,167 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 119 out of 100$595,50024 min ~$2.61
- Run 228 out of 100$642,00022 min ~$3.22
- Run 332 out of 100$659,00022 min ~$3.33
GLM 5.3
13 out of 100Mean of three high runs
49 of 100 caught · $566,833 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 111 out of 10048 caught $554,00021 min ~$3.10
- Run 217 out of 10051 caught $586,00031 min ~$2.83
- Run 312 out of 10047 caught $560,50031 min ~$3.44
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
11 out of 100Mean of three high runs
45 of 100 caught · $506,667 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 132 out of 10056 caught $657,5005 min ~$0.19
- Run 20 out of 10047 caught $499,50010 min ~$0.39
- Run 30 out of 10032 caught $363,0008 min ~$0.32
Gemini 3.8 Flash
5 out of 100Mean of three high runs
$486,333 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 10 out of 100$465,50011 min ~$1.78
- Run 216 out of 100$581,00019 min ~$2.52
- Run 30 out of 100$412,50012 min ~$1.85
Muse Spark Open
0 out of 100Mean of its high run
$0 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 10 out of 100$060 min $26.59
This attempt didn’t finish, so it counts as a 0. The six helper agents it handed the job to stopped responding 47 minutes in, and it changed nothing. Some of its requests to OpenRouter timed out along the way.
Xhigh effort · thirteen runs
Claude Opus 5.5
85 out of 100Mean of three xhigh runs
$924,167 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 191 out of 100$952,50019 min $17.84
- Run 279 out of 100$897,00020 min $26.68
- Run 385 out of 100$923,00021 min $15.39
GPT-6.1 Sol
83 out of 100Mean of three xhigh runs
$914,167 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 182 out of 100$908,50025 min $1.72
- Run 288 out of 100$940,50029 min $1.57
- Run 379 out of 100$893,50038 min $1.97
Claude Fable 5.1
75 out of 100Mean of its xhigh run
$876,500 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 175 out of 100$876,50025 min $13.63
Claude Sonnet 5.5
68 out of 100Mean of three xhigh runs
$837,833 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 187 out of 100$935,50031 min $8.11
- Run 248 out of 100$740,00031 min $8.08
- Run 368 out of 100$838,00030 min $7.58
GPT-6 Astra
40 out of 100Mean of three xhigh runs
$677,667 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 10 out of 100$433,00027 min $8.29
- Run 280 out of 100$902,00030 min $8.62
- Run 340 out of 100$698,00028 min $10.22
Grok 4.7, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Muse Wonder, Gemini 4 Argon, Kimi K3, GLM 5.3, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Muse Spark Open weren’t run at xhigh.
Max effort · nine runs
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
23 out of 100Mean of three max runs
$615,500 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 126 out of 100$628,50036 min ~$0.53
- Run 229 out of 100$646,50024 min ~$0.53
- Run 314 out of 100$571,50018 min ~$0.55
GLM 5.3
22 out of 100Mean of three max runs
$610,500 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 134 out of 100$667,50035 min ~$3.30
- Run 210 out of 100$551,50046 min ~$5.38
- Run 323 out of 100$612,50028 min ~$3.43
Kimi K3
20 out of 100Mean of three max runs
$584,333 of $1,000,000 protected, on average
- Run 134 out of 100$671,00045 min ~$4.61
- Run 225 out of 100$624,50038 min ~$4.13
- Run 30 out of 100$457,50033 min ~$3.78
Claude Opus 5.5, GPT-6.1 Sol, Claude Sonnet 5.5, Grok 4.7, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Claude Fable 5.1, GPT-6 Astra, Muse Wonder, Gemini 4 Argon and Muse Spark Open weren’t run at max.
Each card is one run: its score, problems caught (the runs behind the ticks only), dollars protected, time and cost (~ worked out from tokens, — where a run’s token count is incomplete). The full scorecards stay private.