GPT-5.6 Luna (Low) vs GPT-6 Sol (Medium)
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.6 Luna (Low) by OpenAI or GPT-6 Sol (Medium) by OpenAI? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-26.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GPT-6 Sol (Medium) scores 18.8 points higher (39.8 vs 21.0) but costs 15× as much to run the benchmark ($416 vs $27.0; mid-range vs budget cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GPT-6 Sol (Medium) when you need intelligence above 21.0, and GPT-5.6 Luna (Low) when 21.0 is enough.
| Metric | GPT-5.6 Luna (Low) | GPT-6 Sol (Medium) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 21.0 | 39.8 | +89.5% GPT-6 Sol (Medium) is 89.5% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $27.02 | $416.32 | +1440.8% GPT-6 Sol (Medium) is 15× more expensive |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 5.84s | Not reported | — not comparable |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.20 / $1.20 | $2.00 / $10.0 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
GPT-6 Sol (Medium) vs GPT-5.6 Luna (Low): 89.5% more intelligence, 1440.8% more cost to run the AA benchmark, and end-to-end time not fully reported.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-5.6 Luna (Low) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6 Luna (Low) scores 21.50 for $10.6.
- GPT-6 Sol (Medium) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Medium) scores 47.80 for $361.
GPT-5.6 Luna (Low)GPT-6 Sol (Medium)Today's Pareto frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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