GPT-5.6 Luna (Max) vs GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh)
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.6 Luna (Max) 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 13.7 points higher (51.0 vs 37.3) but costs 2.1× as much to run the benchmark ($662 vs $320; premium vs mid-range cost classes). Pick GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise GPT-5.6 Luna (Max).
| Metric | GPT-5.6 Luna (Max) | GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 37.3 | 51.0 | +36.7% GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) is 36.7% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $319.93 | $662.28 | +107.0% GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) is 2.1× more expensive |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 124.25s | 169.30s | +36.3% GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) is 36.3% 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 (Max): 36.7% more intelligence, 107.0% more cost to run the AA benchmark, and 36.3% slower end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-5.6 Luna (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, MiMo-V2.6-Pro scores 46.30 for $207.
- GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) is on today's frontier: nothing is both smarter and cheaper.
GPT-5.6 Luna (Max)GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh)Today's Pareto frontierEvery other model
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