Replit makes OpenAI its default AI model provider, moving away from Claude
Replit CEO Ahmed Masad said the switch to OpenAI's GPT-6 Sol and Astra balanced cost, partnership and performance. Claude remains selectable.
Replit has switched its default AI model provider to OpenAI, reducing its reliance on Anthropic's Claude. CEO Ahmed Masad explained the choice at TechCrunch Disrupt on October 15, 2026.
Masad said Replit had until recently been one of Anthropic's top five customers. He said internal evaluations showed OpenAI's GPT-6 Sol and Astra performed well at building apps from scratch using natural-language instructions, and that the decision combined cost, partnership and performance considerations.
Claude remains available on Replit as a user-selectable model, and the platform's usage guide lists both automatic and manual model selection, with OpenAI models and Claude currently in the list.
Replit said on X on October 17 that it does not depend on a single model and supports models from multiple providers.
The move follows other companies trimming their reliance on Anthropic's coding tools. Earlier this year, Microsoft cut its projected internal spending on Anthropic technology, initially estimated at at least $1 billion, by more than a third and urged employees to use its own tools such as GitHub Copilot. At Meta, the number of employees using Claude Code fell from 60,000 earlier this year to 30,000 recently, while MetaCode users exceeded 30,000, according to The Information.
Quick answers
Which AI model does Replit use by default now?
Replit has made OpenAI its default AI model provider, moving away from Anthropic's Claude as the default.
Can Replit users still use Claude?
Yes. Claude remains available as a user-selectable model on Replit, and the platform lists both automatic and manual model selection.
Why did Replit switch to OpenAI?
CEO Ahmed Masad said the decision combined cost, partnership and performance considerations, and that internal evaluations showed OpenAI's GPT-6 Sol and Astra performed well at building apps from natural-language instructions.