Best Models for Reverse Engineering
Models that read decompiler output, trace native code, and drive Ghidra, Hopper, and IDA through MCP — compared by price, context window, and tool support
| Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2.00 | $10.00 | $0.20 | |||
| $0.30 | $1.20 | $0.03 | |||
| $0.20 | $0.60 | $0.01 | |||
| $0.15 | $0.60 | $0.00 | |||
$0.20$0.18 -10% off | $0.80$0.72 -10% off | $0.01$0.00 -10% off | |||
| $0.30 | $1.00 | $0.01 | |||
| $0.30 | $1.20 | $0.01 | |||
| $0.15 | $0.60 | $0.00 | |||
| $0.15 | $0.60 | $0.01 | |||
| $0.30 | $1.20 | $0.01 | |||
| $0.43 | $0.87 | $0.00 | |||
| $0.43 | $0.87 | $0.00 | |||
| $0.30 | $1.20 | $0.03 | |||
| $0.28 | $1.13 | $0.03 | |||
| $0.28 | $1.13 | $0.03 | |||
| $0.30 | $1.20 | $0.03 | |||
| $0.28 | $1.13 | $0.03 | |||
| $0.30 | $1.20 | $0.01 | |||
| $0.15 | $0.55 | $0.01 | |||
| $0.20 | $0.60 | $0.01 | |||
$0.20$0.10 -50% off | $0.60$0.30 -50% off | $0.01$0.00 -50% off | |||
| $0.22 | $0.66 | $0.01 | |||
| $0.14 | $0.54 | $0.00 | |||
| $0.30 | $1.20 | $0.01 | |||
| $0.10 | $0.30 | $0.00 | |||
| $0.15 | $0.60 | $0.01 | |||
| $0.15 | $0.60 | $0.01 | |||
| $0.30 | $1.20 | $0.01 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $2.83 | $14.13 | $0.28 | |||
| $2.83 | $14.13 | $0.28 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $2.83 | $14.13 | $0.28 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $3.30 | $16.50 | $0.33 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $3.14 | $15.68 | $0.32 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 | |||
| $1.40 | $4.40 | $0.28 | |||
| $1.40 | $4.40 | $0.28 | |||
| $1.40 | $4.40 | $0.28 | |||
| $1.40 | $4.40 | $0.28 | |||
| $1.40 | $4.40 | $0.28 |
Reverse engineering with an AI agent is now a mainstream workflow: tools like REA (Reverse Engineer Anything, 380K+ GitHub stars) give Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, and Qwen Code an MCP server that inspects native binaries, Electron and JavaScript apps, .NET assemblies, firmware, and Unity IL2CPP metadata, with Ghidra, Hopper, or IDA doing the heavy lifting. The model's job is to read pseudocode and strings, name functions, follow cross-references, and turn evidence into an explanation or a working reimplementation. That takes strong code reasoning, a long context window for decompiler output, and reliable tool calling.
It also takes a model that does not stop halfway. Since October 21, 2026, users have reported that Claude Opus 5.5 cuts off reverse-engineering requests mid-answer, and ChatGPT applies a similar refusal layer to decompilation and exploit questions. Models from DeepSeek, Moonshot (Kimi), Z.ai (GLM), Alibaba (Qwen), MiniMax, Xiaomi, and ByteDance have no such classifier, and several of them — DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3.1 Pro, GLM-5.2 — carry million-token windows that hold an entire Ghidra export. Every model on this page supports tool calling and is available through one OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible endpoint, so you can point your existing agent at the gateway and keep the same REA setup.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI model for reverse engineering?
DeepSeek V4 Pro and Kimi K3.1 Pro are the strongest Chinese-lab choices: both reason well over decompiler pseudocode, support tool calling for Ghidra and Hopper bridges, and hold a 1M-token context. GLM-5.2 and Qwen3.7 Max are close behind, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is the budget pick at $0.15 per million input tokens for bulk function naming and string analysis. Among Western models, Grok 4.3 and Gemini 3.1 Pro complete most RE tasks; Claude Opus 5.5 is currently reported to halt them.
Does Claude refuse reverse engineering now?
Reports started on October 21, 2026 on r/Claude, covered by Kotaku and others: Claude Opus 5.5 begins analysing a target, then a safety guardrail stops the response mid-sentence and it will not reproduce the write-up even when reworded. Anthropic has not announced a change. Opus 5.5 launched on September 22, 2026 with safeguards that cover cybersecurity, and Anthropic's launch notes say interrupted cyber tasks in testing were completed by Claude Opus 4.8, which is why Opus 4.8 is on this list.
Can I use REA with these models?
Yes. REA (npx rea-agents setup) registers an MCP server with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Qwen Code, and other agents. Point that agent at LLM Gateway — https://api.llmgateway.io/v1 for OpenAI-compatible clients, or the Anthropic-compatible endpoint for Claude Code — with your gateway key and a model ID such as deepseek-v4-pro or kimi-k3.1-pro. REA's tools and skill stay the same; only the model behind the agent changes.
Is AI-assisted reverse engineering legal?
Often, within limits. Analysing your own code, open-source software, malware in a sandbox, and CTF challenges is generally permitted; interoperability and security research have explicit exemptions in many jurisdictions. Copying closed-source code into a product, circumventing DRM, or probing systems you do not own is usually where it stops being legal. Check the licence and the law where you are before you publish results.