Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback) vs Inkling 2 Small
Which is better for the money: Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback) by Anthropic or Inkling 2 Small by Thinking Machines? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-11-06.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Max, Default Fallbac… scores 23.9 points higher (54.5 vs 30.6) but costs 10× as much to run the benchmark ($7981 vs $792; flagship vs premium cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Max, Default Fallbac… when you need intelligence above 30.6, and Inkling 2 Small when 30.6 is enough.
| Metric | Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback) | Inkling 2 Small | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 54.5 | 30.6 | −43.9% Inkling 2 Small is 43.9% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $7,980.63 | $791.81 | −90.1% Inkling 2 Small is 90.1% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 377.09s | 20.92s | −94.5% Inkling 2 Small is 94.5% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $2.00 / $10.0 | $0.30 / $1.00 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
Inkling 2 Small vs Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback): 43.9% less intelligence, 90.1% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 94.5% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Gemini 4 Carbon (Medium) scores 58.30 for $5903.
- Inkling 2 Small is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) scores 52.50 for $718.
Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback)Inkling 2 SmallToday's Pareto frontierEvery other model
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