1,464
▲ 50% since May 2023
Arena score of the top Chinese model in March 2026, 39 points behind the top US model (1,503)
20232026

What the chart shows

In May 2023 the top US model on the Arena led the top Chinese model by 346 points. By February 2025 the gap had shrunk to 5 points (1,405 against 1,400), the smallest in the data. In March 2026 the top US model scored 1,503 and the top Chinese model 1,464, a gap of 39 points (2.7%).

Since January 2025 the gap has moved between 5 and 91 points, and the top Chinese model has not led in any month of the data. The report names Claude Opus 4.6 and Dola-Seed-2.0 Preview as the leaders in March 2026.

Key numbers

MeasureValue
Top US model, Mar 20261,503
Top Chinese model, Mar 20261,464
Gap, Mar 202639
Gap, May 2023346
Smallest gap, Feb 20255

How to read it

  • Each point is the highest score of any US or Chinese model that month on the Arena’s historical leaderboard (public, style control on), exported in March 2026.
  • Arena scores reflect user preferences in blind comparisons, not accuracy on a fixed test. Model names come from the report text; the data gives scores only.
  • Arena scores have no true zero, so the vertical axis starts at 900 to show the gaps; compare differences between lines, not their heights above the axis.
Source: Arena, 2026, via the AI Index Report 2026 (Stanford HAI), figure 2.1.3: Performance of top United States vs. Chinese models on the Arena. Chart and text by AI Adoption.
Numbers checked against the published data on 20 October 2026.
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