GPT-5.6 Luna (Xhigh) vs GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh)
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.6 Luna (Xhigh) by OpenAI or GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) by OpenAI? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-27.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) scores 16.4 points higher (51.0 vs 34.6) but costs 3.7× as much to run the benchmark ($662 vs $179; premium vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) when you need intelligence above 34.6, and GPT-5.6 Luna (Xhigh) when 34.6 is enough.
| Metric | GPT-5.6 Luna (Xhigh) | GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 34.6 | 51.0 | +47.4% GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) is 47.4% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $179.33 | $662.28 | +269.3% GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) is 3.7× more expensive |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 45.86s | 136.89s | +198.5% GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) is 198.5% slower |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.20 / $1.20 | $2.00 / $10.0 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) vs GPT-5.6 Luna (Xhigh): 47.4% more intelligence, 269.3% more cost to run the AA benchmark, and 198.5% slower end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-5.6 Luna (Xhigh) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Terra (Medium) scores 41.30 for $175.
- GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) is on today's frontier: nothing is both smarter and cheaper.
GPT-5.6 Luna (Xhigh)GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh)Today's Pareto frontierEvery other model
Matchup
Compare something else
Agents:
Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-6-luna-xhigh/gpt-6-1-sol-xhigh · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-6-luna-xhigh/gpt-6-1-sol-xhigh?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill