Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Grok 4.6 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,592 vs 1,574), while Claude Opus 4.6 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (75.9%), while Grok 4.6 is more budget-friendly at $6/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
10 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Follow-on Opus release. Slightly behind 4.5 on official SWE-bench bash-only in the last published sweep; stronger multi-step autonomous agent reasoning.
xAI Aug 12 2026 post-training refresh of Grok 4.5. Same $2/$6 API price, 500k context, stronger agentic traces.
Currently comparing Claude Opus 4.6 vs Grok 4.6. Alternative family tiers available.
Simulate accuracy gains vs added response time & token cost
Reasoning models “think before answering” by generating internal reasoning tokens. Higher effort improves math, coding, and logic accuracy, but increases response delay and token costs.
Δ 18 Arena Elo pts
118 tok/s
$6 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | Claude Opus 4.6 | Grok 4.6 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +18 | ||
| Coding Elo | +2 | ||
| LiveBench | +0.6% | ||
| SWE-bench | +6.8% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +0.2% | ||
| Time to first token | +165 ms | ||
| Output speed | 64 tok/s | 118 tok/s | +54 tok/s |
| Input price | +$3/1M | ||
| Output price | +$19/1M | ||
| Context window | +500k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Grok 4.6 is estimated to save $390.00/month ($4,680/year).
Higher SWE-bench (75.9%).
Lower output list price ($6/1M).
Lower TTFT (195 ms).
Larger window (1M).
Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Grok 4.6).
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Opus 4.6 | Higher SWE-bench (75.9%). |
| High-volume chat | Grok 4.6 | Lower output list price ($6/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Grok 4.6 | Lower TTFT (195 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude Opus 4.6 | Larger window (1M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Grok 4.6 | Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Grok 4.6). |
Brand hub remaps to top xAI vs top OpenAI. After Aug 12 that is Grok 4.6 vs Sol.
xAI’s Aug 12 2026 refresh of Grok 4.5. 500k context. The Grok vs ChatGPT hub remaps here.
Slightly behind 4.5 on one official SWE-bench sweep; stronger long-horizon traces. We keep the row for old vs URLs.
2025-07 row. 4.6 is the buy. We keep 4 so upgrade pairs and old inbound links resolve.
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
compare · Aug 12, 2026
Grok vs ChatGPT: price and Elo, not a personality contest
launch · Aug 12, 2026
Grok 4.6 (Aug 12): post-training refresh, same $2/$6 list
launch · May 10, 2026
Claude Opus 4.6: the May follow-on that still shows up in old bookmarks
launch · Jul 10, 2025
Grok 4 remains the previous xAI flagship on this catalog
