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 1,570), while Gemini 3.6 Pro leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (74.6%), while Gemini 3.6 Pro is more budget-friendly at $5/1M per 1M output tokens, while Grok 4.6 provides faster response streaming (118 tok/s). 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
Current Google Pro-class multimodal model. Long context, strong coding, billed like the 3.x Pro tier.
xAI Aug 12 2026 post-training refresh of Grok 4.5. Same $2/$6 API price, 500k context, stronger agentic traces.
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 22 Arena Elo pts
118 tok/s
$5 / 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 | Gemini 3.6 Pro | Grok 4.6 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +22 | ||
| Coding Elo | +2 | ||
| LiveBench | +0.4% | ||
| SWE-bench | +5.5% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +0.2% | ||
| Time to first token | +10 ms | ||
| Output speed | 102 tok/s | 118 tok/s | +16 tok/s |
| Input price | $1.25/1M | +$0.75/1M | |
| Output price | +$1/1M | ||
| Context window | +1.5M |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Gemini 3.6 Pro is estimated to save $41.25/month ($495/year).
Higher SWE-bench (74.6%).
Lower output list price ($5/1M).
Lower TTFT (195 ms).
Larger window (2M).
Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Grok 4.6).
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Gemini 3.6 Pro | Higher SWE-bench (74.6%). |
| High-volume chat | Gemini 3.6 Pro | Lower output list price ($5/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Grok 4.6 | Lower TTFT (195 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Gemini 3.6 Pro | Larger window (2M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Grok 4.6 | Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Grok 4.6). |
3.7 Flash vs 3.6 Pro is the current Google volume-versus-upgrade pair.
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.
Top Anthropic vs top Google. Usually Opus 5 vs 3.6 Pro. Two different invoices.
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
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