GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) vs GPT-6.1 Sol (Low)
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) by OpenAI or GPT-6.1 Sol (Low) by OpenAI? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-24.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) scores 4.9 points higher (47.0 vs 42.1) but costs 14× as much to run the benchmark ($3465 vs $250; flagship vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) when you need intelligence above 42.1, and GPT-6.1 Sol (Low) when 42.1 is enough.
| Metric | GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) | GPT-6.1 Sol (Low) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 47.0 | 42.1 | −10.4% GPT-6.1 Sol (Low) is 10.4% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $3,464.84 | $250.48 | −92.8% GPT-6.1 Sol (Low) is 92.8% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 91.96s | 12.52s | −86.4% GPT-6.1 Sol (Low) is 86.4% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $4.00 / $20.0 | $2.00 / $10.0 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
GPT-6.1 Sol (Low) vs GPT-5.6 Sol (Max): 10.4% less intelligence, 92.8% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 86.4% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Kimi K3.1 Pro scores 55.10 for $3117.
- GPT-6.1 Sol (Low) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, MiMo-V2.6-Pro scores 46.30 for $207.
GPT-5.6 Sol (Max)GPT-6.1 Sol (Low)Today's Pareto frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-6-sol/gpt-6-1-sol-low · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-6-sol/gpt-6-1-sol-low?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill