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Head-to-head comparison

Inkling vs Grok 4.6

Inkling (Thinking Machines) and Grok 4.6 (xAI) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 17 August 2026

As of 17 August 2026, Grok 4.6 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#10 vs #24); Inkling is 1.5× cheaper per output token ($4.05/1M vs $6.00/1M); Inkling offers the longer context window (1M vs 500K tokens); and Inkling ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Inkling if…

  • API cost matters — $4.05/1M output tokens against $6.00/1M, about 1.5× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.95/1M against $2.00/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 500K.
  • you want to self-host: Inkling ships open weights while Grok 4.6 is api only.
  • you want provider choice — 3 listed API providers against 1.

Choose Grok 4.6 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #10 against #24 (74.4 vs 64.0 points).
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1512 against 1494.
  • ARC-AGI-2 is your yardstick — 67.1% against 36.5%.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 60.9 against 42.3.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Grok 4.6 was listed 12 August 2026, Inkling 17 July 2026.

Inkling vs Grok 4.6: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Inkling and Grok 4.6
FieldInklingThinking MachinesGrok 4.6xAI
ModelCap Index position#24#10
Index score64.074.4
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.95$2.00
Output price / 1M tokens$4.05$6.00
Context window1M tokens500K tokens
Max output tokens262K—
API providers listed31
Weight accessOpen weightsAPI only
Input modalitiesText, Image, AudioText, Image, File
First listed17 July 202612 August 2026
PublisherThinking MachinesxAI

Evidence: 5 public benchmark observations across 5 boards · 5 public benchmark observations across 5 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Inkling vs Grok 4.6

Public benchmark boards where Inkling or Grok 4.6 has a published result
BoardInklingGrok 4.6Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14941485–150415121485–1538HighGrok 4.6
LMArena AgentLMArena-6.6%-7.5%–-5.7%—Only one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation36.5%67.1%X-HighGrok 4.6
ARC-AGI-3ARC Prize Foundation—2.1%X-HighOnly one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis42.3intelligence-index60.9intelligence-indexGrok 4.6

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Inkling vs Grok 4.6: common questions

Is Inkling better than Grok 4.6?

Grok 4.6 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 17 August 2026: #10 against #24. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it.

Is Inkling cheaper than Grok 4.6?

Inkling is cheaper on output tokens: $4.05/1M against $6.00/1M. Input tokens are $0.95/1M for Inkling and $2.00/1M for Grok 4.6. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Inkling or Grok 4.6?

Inkling has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 500K.

Which is better for coding, Inkling or Grok 4.6?

Arena coding: Inkling 1494, Grok 4.6 1512 — Grok 4.6 leads.

Are Inkling and Grok 4.6 open-weight models?

Inkling: Open weights. Grok 4.6: API only. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Inkling and Grok 4.6?

ModelCap currently lists 3 API providers for Inkling and 1 for Grok 4.6, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Inkling vs Grok 4.6 comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 17 August 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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