GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) vs GPT-6 Luna (Xhigh)
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) by OpenAI or GPT-6 Luna (Xhigh) 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 12.4 points higher (47.0 vs 34.6) but costs 52× as much to run the benchmark ($3465 vs $66.8; flagship vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) when you need intelligence above 34.6, and GPT-6 Luna (Xhigh) when 34.6 is enough.
| Metric | GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) | GPT-6 Luna (Xhigh) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 47.0 | 34.6 | −26.4% GPT-6 Luna (Xhigh) is 26.4% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $3,464.84 | $66.81 | −98.1% GPT-6 Luna (Xhigh) is 98.1% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 113.85s | 28.32s | −75.1% GPT-6 Luna (Xhigh) is 75.1% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $4.00 / $20.0 | $0.10 / $0.50 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
GPT-6 Luna (Xhigh) vs GPT-5.6 Sol (Max): 26.4% less intelligence, 98.1% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 75.1% 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 Luna (Xhigh) is on today's frontier: nothing is both smarter and cheaper.
GPT-5.6 Sol (Max)GPT-6 Luna (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-sol/gpt-6-luna-xhigh · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-6-sol/gpt-6-luna-xhigh?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill