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© 2026 CompareLLM. Public benchmark data aggregated from Arena Elo, LiveBench, SWE-bench & OpenRouter.

Every score has a dated snapshot.

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  2. Comparisons
  3. Grok 4.6 vs Qwen 2.5 Plus

Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026

Grok 4.6 vs Qwen 2.5 Plus benchmark

In this head-to-head showdown, Grok 4.6 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,592 vs 1,445), while Grok 4.6 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (69.1%), while Qwen 2.5 Plus is more budget-friendly at $1/1M 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.

Executive Comparison Verdict

Bottom Line: Choose Grok 4.6 if your priority is peak reasoning, complex code generation, and top preference Elo. Choose Qwen 2.5 Plus if you are optimizing for low latency, high throughput, and cost-efficient API deployment.
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Verified Head-to-Head Advantage Breakdown

10 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost

Grok 4.6 (7)Qwen 2.5 Plus (3)
Grok 4.6
7 of 10 Wins
✓Preference Elo✓Coding Elo✓LiveBench✓SWE-bench✓GPQA Diamond✓Output speed✓Context window
Qwen 2.5 Plus
3 of 10 Wins
✓Time to first token✓Input price✓Output price
xAI
Leads 7 of 10 metrics
Grok 4.6

xAI Aug 12 2026 post-training refresh of Grok 4.5. Same $2/$6 API price, 500k context, stronger agentic traces.

Elo 1,592$6/1M out
Alibaba
Leads 3 of 10 metrics
Qwen 2.5 Plus

Alibaba balanced flagship API model with high-throughput general reasoning.

Elo 1,445$1/1M out
Top Rival Showdowns for Grok 4.6
All Matchups
Compare vs:vs Claude Opus 4.5vs GPT-5vs Gemini 3 Provs DeepSeek V4 Provs Qwen 3 Max
Preference LeaderGrok 4.6 Wins

Grok 4.6

Δ 147 Arena Elo pts

Throughput LeaderGrok 4.6 Wins

Grok 4.6

118 tok/s

Value per Dollar LeaderQwen 2.5 Plus Wins

Qwen 2.5 Plus

$1 / 1M output

Capability Percentiles

Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Leaders Matchup Capability Radar

Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.

Tap any node to inspect
Percentile 0–100
Head-to-Head Comparison

Overall Matchup Breakdown

Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.

Grok 4.6 (7)vsQwen 2.5 Plus (3)
Grok 4.6: 7W (70%)Overall: Grok 4.6Qwen 2.5 Plus: 3W (30%)
← Grok 4.6Qwen 2.5 Plus →
🏆Grok 4.6(5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Benchmark
Grok 4.6vsQwen 2.5 Plus
Preference Elo
1,592vs1,445+147
Coding Elo
1,568vs1,460+108
SWE-bench
69.1%vs59.2%+9.9%
LiveBench
71.4%vs63.5%+7.9%
GPQA Diamond
84.6%vs75.8%+8.8%
Grok 4.6: 5WQwen 2.5 Plus: 0W
Tied (1-1)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Benchmark
Grok 4.6vsQwen 2.5 Plus
Output speed
118 tok/svs110 tok/s+8 tok/s
Time to first token
195 msvs180 ms+15 ms
Grok 4.6: 1WQwen 2.5 Plus: 1W
🏆Qwen 2.5 Plus(2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Benchmark
Grok 4.6vsQwen 2.5 Plus
Output price
$6/1Mvs$1/1M+$5/1M
Input price
$2/1Mvs$0.25/1M+$1.75/1M
Context window
500kvs128k+372k
Grok 4.6: 1WQwen 2.5 Plus: 2W

Side-by-Side Benchmark Matrix

Preference Elo+147
Grok 4.61,592
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus1,445
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Coding Elo+108
Grok 4.61,568
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus1,460
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
LiveBench+7.9%
Grok 4.671.4%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus63.5%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
SWE-bench+9.9%
Grok 4.669.1%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus59.2%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
GPQA Diamond+8.8%
Grok 4.684.6%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus75.8%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Time to first token+15 ms
Grok 4.6195 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus180 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Output speed+8 tok/s
Grok 4.6118 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus110 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Input price+$1.75/1M
Grok 4.6$2/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus$0.25/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Output price+$5/1M
Grok 4.6$6/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus$1/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Context window+372k
Grok 4.6500k
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus128k
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
BenchmarkGrok 4.6Qwen 2.5 PlusAdvantage Delta
Preference Elo
1,592
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
1,445
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+147
Coding Elo
1,568
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
1,460
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+108
LiveBench
71.4%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
63.5%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+7.9%
SWE-bench
69.1%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
59.2%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+9.9%
GPQA Diamond
84.6%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
75.8%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+8.8%
Time to first token
195 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
180 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+15 ms
Output speed
118 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
110 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+8 tok/s
Input price
$2/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
$0.25/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+$1.75/1M
Output price
$6/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
$1/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+$5/1M
Context window
500k
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
128k
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+372k
Interactive Simulator (USD)

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).

Save up to 85% with Qwen 2.5 Plus
Monthly Volume50M tokens/mo
Quick Presets:
Token Ratio (In vs Out)70% In / 30% Out
RAG / Search (10% out)Coding / Chat (50% out)
Grok 4.6$160.00 / mo
In: $70Out: $90
Qwen 2.5 Plus$23.75 / mo
In: $8.75Out: $15
Estimated Cost Delta

Qwen 2.5 Plus is estimated to save $136.25/month ($1,635/year).

Based on 50M tokens (30% gen)

Key Selection Recommendations

  • 1
    Grok 4.6:Pick Grok 4.6 when repo-level coding accuracy is the constraint.
  • 2
    Qwen 2.5 Plus:Pick Qwen 2.5 Plus when you are optimizing output cost.
  • 3
    Qwen 2.5 Plus:Pick Qwen 2.5 Plus when time-to-first-token matters more than peak Elo.

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsGrok 4.6

Higher SWE-bench (69.1%).

High-volume chatQwen 2.5 Plus

Lower output list price ($1/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIQwen 2.5 Plus

Lower TTFT (180 ms).

Long-document RAGGrok 4.6

Larger window (500k).

Screenshots / visionGrok 4.6

Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Grok 4.6).

Target WorkloadRecommended PickEvaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agentsGrok 4.6Higher SWE-bench (69.1%).
High-volume chatQwen 2.5 PlusLower output list price ($1/1M).
Voice / low-latency UIQwen 2.5 PlusLower TTFT (180 ms).
Long-document RAGGrok 4.6Larger window (500k).
Screenshots / visionGrok 4.6Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Grok 4.6).

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

View all news
compareAug 12, 2026

Grok vs ChatGPT: price and Elo, not a personality contest

Brand hub remaps to top xAI vs top OpenAI. After Aug 12 that is Grok 4.6 vs Sol.

launchAug 12, 2026

Grok 4.6 (Aug 12): post-training refresh, same $2/$6 list

xAI’s Aug 12 2026 refresh of Grok 4.5. 500k context. The Grok vs ChatGPT hub remaps here.

launchJul 10, 2025

Grok 4 remains the previous xAI flagship on this catalog

2025-07 row. 4.6 is the buy. We keep 4 so upgrade pairs and old inbound links resolve.

Community Sentiment

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CompareLLM AI Matrix

Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry

LIVE BENCHMARK
VS
xAI

Grok 4.6

Elo 1,592
SWE-bench69.1%
Speed (tok/s)118 tok/s
Input / 1M Tokens$2/1M
Output / 1M Tokens$6/1M
Alibaba

Qwen 2.5 Plus

Elo 1,445
SWE-bench59.2%
Speed (tok/s)110 tok/s
Input / 1M Tokens$0.25/1M
Output / 1M Tokens$1/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, Grok 4.6 or Qwen 2.5 Plus?
Grok 4.6 has the higher preference Elo in our latest snapshot (1,592). “Better” still depends on coding, price, and latency — see the table.
Which is better at coding, Grok 4.6 or Qwen 2.5 Plus?
Grok 4.6 leads SWE-bench at 69.1% vs 59.2%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.
Which is cheaper to run in production?
Qwen 2.5 Plus output tokens are $1/1M versus $6/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, Grok 4.6 or Qwen 2.5 Plus?
Qwen 2.5 Plus has the lower time-to-first-token (180 ms vs 195 ms). Tokens/sec is a separate column if you care about long completions.
Which has the larger context window?
Grok 4.6 accepts 500k tokens versus 128k.
Can I self-host either model?
Neither model is marked open-weights here. You are comparing hosted APIs.
Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?
No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.
What does preference Elo mean on this page?
Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. Grok 4.6 and Qwen 2.5 Plus Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Related news

  • 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 · Jul 10, 2025

    Grok 4 remains the previous xAI flagship on this catalog

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All Grok 4.6 matchups →|All Qwen 2.5 Plus matchups →
Grok 4.6 vs Grok 4 (previous grok)Qwen 2.5 Plus vs Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B (next qwen)Qwen 3 Max vs Qwen 2.5 PlusQwen QwQ 32B vs Qwen 2.5 PlusClaude Opus 4.8 vs Grok 4.6GPT-5.6 Sol vs Grok 4.6