Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Grok 4.6 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,592 vs 1,490), while Claude Opus 4 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (72.5%), 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
First Claude 4 Opus generation. Baseline for opus 4 vs opus 5.
xAI Aug 12 2026 post-training refresh of Grok 4.5. Same $2/$6 API price, 500k context, stronger agentic traces.
Δ 102 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 | Grok 4.6 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +102 | ||
| Coding Elo | +66 | ||
| LiveBench | +4.6% | ||
| SWE-bench | +3.4% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +4.2% | ||
| Time to first token | +195 ms | ||
| Output speed | 58 tok/s | 118 tok/s | +60 tok/s |
| Input price | +$13/1M | ||
| Output price | +$69/1M | ||
| Context window | +300k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Grok 4.6 is estimated to save $1,490.00/month ($17,880/year).
Higher SWE-bench (72.5%).
Lower output list price ($6/1M).
Lower TTFT (195 ms).
Larger window (500k).
Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Grok 4.6).
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Opus 4 | Higher SWE-bench (72.5%). |
| 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 | Grok 4.6 | Larger window (500k). |
| 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.
2025-07 row. 4.6 is the buy. We keep 4 so upgrade pairs and old inbound links resolve.
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