Best AI model release trackers for tech journalists in 2026

Q: What does Hugging Face list for AI models?

Hugging Face's models page lists 3,137,122 models. Its Inference Providers give access to 45,000+ models through a single API with no service fees. GPU compute on Hugging Face starts at $0.60/hour. These facts describe a catalogue of models, so check whether the site gives release dates before you rely on it for timing.

Options for following AI model releases, from release odds and launch records to daily news, with questions to ask before you pick.

By SupaKeeper · 2026-10-23

SupaKeeper is published by LunarWerx, which makes some of the tools compared here.

Model Odds is the option here that estimates release timing, ranking every Anthropic and OpenAI model family by its estimated chance of a release within 30 days. ^[1] The other options here cover different jobs, so match the tool to the question you need answered before you pick.

Option	What it does	Price as stated
Model Odds	Ranks every Anthropic and OpenAI model family by its estimated chance of a release within 30 days. ^[1]	Free, and so is its API, with no account needed. ^[1]
Artificial Analysis	Lets users compare models side by side on intelligence, pricing, speed, latency, benchmarks and more. ^[2]	not published
LLM Stats	Offers a weekly curated newsletter digest of models, benchmarks and analysis. ^[3]	not published
Hugging Face	Its models page lists 3,137,122 models. ^[4]	GPU compute starts at $0.60/hour. ^[5]
AI News by Smol AI	Summarizes top AI Discords, AI Reddits and AI X/Twitters, with a daily roundup. ^[6]	not published

What tech journalists need from AI model release trackers

A tech journalist usually needs three kinds of answer from a tracker: whether a release is likely soon, whether a release has already happened, and how a new model performs against others. Those are separate questions, and different kinds of source answer them.

A release forecast can only give a likelihood, because a tracker rarely knows the day a lab will ship a model. A dated record of past launches is what settles a question about when something came out. Benchmark comparisons and daily news digests cover the rest, helping you read what a model can do and what the field is saying.

Before you rely on any tool, check its limits: which labs it covers, how often its data refreshes, and what it costs. The sections below describe what each source states and nothing more, and where a source is silent on timing, the page says so.

Model Odds for tech journalists

Model Odds is made by the team that publishes this site. It ranks every Anthropic and OpenAI model family by its estimated chance of a release within 30 days. ^[1] Each of the two companies has its own page that lists every past release. ^[1] Every past launch it uses must be confirmed by an official post and an independent timeline, and it is listed with its date. ^[1]

It runs three estimators side by side and publishes the spread between them as the error bar. ^[1] Its estimate is a renewal process fitted on the gaps between recent launches, and it takes into account how long the current wait has already lasted. ^[1] Signals read from company software kits and documentation, and from third-party model catalogues when two of them agree, can only raise the odds. ^[1] The estimator can also replay any past date without using data from after that date. ^[1]

Email alerts need a confirmed email address, and every subscriber gets every company's drops at the same time. ^[1] Model Odds is free, and so is its API, with no account needed. ^[1] It is a web app that runs in the browser and needs JavaScript. ^[1]

Artificial Analysis for tech journalists

Artificial Analysis lets users compare models side by side on intelligence, pricing, speed, latency, benchmarks and more. ^[2] Its Intelligence Index v4.3.2 incorporates 10 evaluations. ^[2] Its Coding Agent Index v1.5 incorporates 3 benchmarks. ^[2]

These facts describe model comparisons, so check whether the site covers release timing before you rely on it for that. ^[2]

LLM Stats for tech journalists

LLM Stats offers a weekly curated newsletter digest of models, benchmarks and analysis. ^[3] Its pricing is pulled from each provider's public price list and cross-checked against billing samples. ^[3] The LLM Stats Score aggregates GPQA, SWE-Bench Verified, coding-arena performance and pricing into one comparable ranking. ^[3]

Check whether a weekly digest matches how often you need updates, and whether the ranking's inputs match the measures your stories use.

Hugging Face for tech journalists

These facts describe a catalogue of models, so check whether the site gives release dates before you rely on it for timing. ^[4]

AI News by Smol AI for tech journalists

AI News by Smol AI summarizes top AI Discords, AI Reddits and AI X/Twitters, and sends out a daily roundup. ^[6] The site has a search feature opened with the Cmd+K shortcut. ^[6] A customizable version of the service is available. ^[6]

Check whether a daily roundup of community discussion matches the sources your stories rely on, since these facts describe news summaries. ^[6]

Matching the tool to the job

To judge whether a release is likely within 30 days, Model Odds ranks Anthropic and OpenAI model families by their estimated chance of release. ^[1] To check a date for a story, its verified launch record lists each release with its date. ^[1]

To compare how a model performs once you have its name, Artificial Analysis lets you compare models side by side on intelligence, pricing, speed, latency, benchmarks and more. ^[2] To read a weekly summary of models, benchmarks and analysis, LLM Stats offers a weekly curated newsletter digest. ^[3]

To look through a large catalogue of models, Hugging Face's models page lists 3,137,122 models. ^[4] To keep up with what is being said each day, AI News by Smol AI sends out a daily roundup. ^[6]

Questions to ask before you choose

Which labs does your beat cover, and does each tool list them? Check the list before you commit.

Do you need a likelihood of release, a dated record of past launches, a comparison of how models perform, or a daily summary of the news? Each answer points to a different option above.

Would a daily roundup or a weekly digest fit the way you follow the field?

Does your work need a tool that runs in a browser, and can you enable JavaScript there?

Does the source say how often its data is refreshed, and how old its figures can be?

Frequently asked questions

Which tool estimates when a new AI model will be released?

Model Odds ranks every Anthropic and OpenAI model family by its estimated chance of a release within 30 days. ^[1] It gives an estimated chance, not a fixed date, and shows the spread between its three estimators as the error bar. ^[1] Each past launch it uses has to be confirmed by an official post and an independent timeline. ^[1] Check the page for the current list of companies it covers.

Is Model Odds free to use for journalists?

Model Odds is free, and so is its API, with no account needed. ^[1] It is a web app that runs in the browser and needs JavaScript. ^[1] Email alerts need a confirmed email address, and every subscriber gets every company's drops at the same time. ^[1] Check the page for current terms before you sign up.

Can Artificial Analysis compare AI models on speed and price?

Artificial Analysis lets users compare models side by side on intelligence, pricing, speed, latency, benchmarks and more. ^[2] Its Intelligence Index v4.3.2 incorporates 10 evaluations. ^[2] The facts here describe model comparisons, so check whether the site covers release timing before you rely on it for that. ^[2]

Does LLM Stats publish a weekly newsletter?

LLM Stats offers a weekly curated newsletter digest of models, benchmarks and analysis. ^[3] Its pricing is pulled from each provider's public price list and cross-checked against billing samples. ^[3] Check whether the weekly digest matches the labs and benchmarks your stories follow before you subscribe.

What does Hugging Face list for AI models?

Hugging Face's models page lists 3,137,122 models. ^[4] Its Inference Providers give access to 45,000+ models through a single API with no service fees. ^[5] GPU compute on Hugging Face starts at $0.60/hour. ^[5] These facts describe a catalogue of models, so check whether the site gives release dates before you rely on it for timing. ^[4]

Model Odds is free, and so is its API, with no account needed. ^[1]

Try Model Odds