GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) vs GPT-6 Astra (Low)
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) by OpenAI or GPT-6 Astra (Low) 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-5.6 Sol (Max) scores 1.2 points higher (47.0 vs 45.8) but costs 2.3× as much to run the benchmark ($3465 vs $1537; flagship vs premium cost classes). Pick GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise GPT-6 Astra (Low).
| Metric | GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) | GPT-6 Astra (Low) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 47.0 | 45.8 | −2.6% GPT-6 Astra (Low) is 2.6% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $3,464.84 | $1,536.78 | −55.6% GPT-6 Astra (Low) is 55.6% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 113.85s | 12.56s | −89.0% GPT-6 Astra (Low) is 89.0% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $4.00 / $20.0 | $10.0 / $50.0 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
GPT-6 Astra (Low) vs GPT-5.6 Sol (Max): 2.6% less intelligence, 55.6% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 89.0% 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 Astra (Low) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 51.80 for $1082.
GPT-5.6 Sol (Max)GPT-6 Astra (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-astra-low · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-6-sol/gpt-6-astra-low?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill