GPT-6 Luna (Max) vs GPT-6 Luna (Non-reasoning)
Which is better for the money: GPT-6 Luna (Max) by OpenAI or GPT-6 Luna (Non-reasoning) 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-6 Luna (Max) scores 19.6 points higher (38.1 vs 18.5) but costs 6.4× as much to run the benchmark ($122 vs $19.2; mid-range vs budget cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GPT-6 Luna (Max) when you need intelligence above 18.5, and GPT-6 Luna (Non-reasoning) when 18.5 is enough.
| Metric | GPT-6 Luna (Max) | GPT-6 Luna (Non-reasoning) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 38.1 | 18.5 | −51.4% GPT-6 Luna (Non-reaso… is 51.4% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $122.05 | $19.16 | −84.3% GPT-6 Luna (Non-reaso… is 84.3% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 82.02s | 4.98s | −93.9% GPT-6 Luna (Non-reaso… is 93.9% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.10 / $0.50 | $0.10 / $0.50 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
GPT-6 Luna (Non-reasoning) vs GPT-6 Luna (Max): 51.4% less intelligence, 84.3% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 93.9% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-6 Luna (Max) is on today's frontier: nothing is both smarter and cheaper.
- GPT-6 Luna (Non-reasoning) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6 Luna (Low) scores 21.50 for $10.6.
GPT-6 Luna (Max)GPT-6 Luna (Non-reasoning)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-6-luna/gpt-6-luna-non-reasoning · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-6-luna/gpt-6-luna-non-reasoning?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill