Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026

GPT-5 mini vs Grok 4.6 benchmark

Name: GPT-5 mini vs Grok 4.6 AI benchmark comparison
Creator: CompareLLM
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This page compares GPT-5 mini (OpenAI) and Grok 4.6 (xAI) using the latest snapshots we have as of Aug 16, 2026. On preference Elo, Grok 4.6 is ahead by 182 points (1,592 vs 1,410; seed-bootstrap (Aug 16, 2026)). On SWE-bench coding, Grok 4.6 resolves 69.1% versus 52.4% (seed-bootstrap (Aug 16, 2026)). GPT-5 mini streams faster (155 tok/s) while GPT-5 mini is the cheaper output token ($2/1M). Grok 4.6 has the larger context window (500k tokens). Every cell below is a dated snapshot from a named public source — we do not invent missing scores, and we do not run SWE-bench ourselves.

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OpenAI

GPT-5 mini

Cost-efficient GPT-5 distill for high-volume agents.

Elo 1,410$2/1M out

xAI

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

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Model A

Model B

Quick vs:vs Claude Opus 4.5 vs Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Claude 3.7 Sonnet

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

GPT-5 mini (4)vsGrok 4.6 (6)

GPT-5 mini: 4W (40%)Overall: Grok 4.6Grok 4.6: 6W (60%)

← GPT-5 miniGrok 4.6 →

Grok 4.6 (5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

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

Preference Elo

1,410vs1,592

Coding Elo

1,395vs1,568

SWE-bench

52.4%vs69.1%

LiveBench

61.2%vs71.4%

GPQA Diamond

72%vs84.6%

GPT-5 mini: 0WGrok 4.6: 5W

GPT-5 mini (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

155 tok/svs118 tok/s

Time to first token

140 msvs195 ms

GPT-5 mini: 2WGrok 4.6: 0W

GPT-5 mini (2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$2/1Mvs$6/1M

Input price

$0.25/1Mvs$2/1M

Context window

400kvs500k

GPT-5 mini: 2WGrok 4.6: 1W

Capability Matchup Radar

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Each spoke is a skill. Farther from the center is better (0–100th percentile). Tap any dot to inspect details.

Tap any node to inspect

Percentile 0–100

Dimensional AdvantageGrok 4.6 4/6

Preference Elo

Grok 4.6

182 pts advantage

Throughput Speed

GPT-5 mini

37 tok/s faster

Price Efficiency

GPT-5 mini

$4.00/1M cheaper

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

—

Elo

High is better

1,410

EloHigh is better

1,592+13%

Code Elo

High is better

1,395

Code EloHigh is better

1,568+12%

LiveBench

High is better

61.2%

LiveBenchHigh is better

71.4%+17%

SWE-bench

High is better

52.4%

SWE-benchHigh is better

69.1%+32%

GPQA

High is better

72%

GPQAHigh is better

84.6%+17%

TTFT

Low is better

+39%140 ms

TTFTLow is better

195 ms

Speed

High is better

+31%155 tok/s

SpeedHigh is better

118 tok/s

In $

Low is better

+700%$0.25/1M

In $Low is better

$2/1M

Out $

Low is better

+200%$2/1M

Out $Low is better

$6/1M

Context

High is better

400k

ContextHigh is better

500k+25%

Interactive Simulator

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Simulate monthly production API costs based on published $/1M tokens.

Save up to 76% with GPT-5 mini

Monthly Volume50M tokens/mo

Quick Presets:

Token Ratio (In vs Out)70% In / 30% Out

RAG / Search (10% out)Coding / Chat (50% out)

GPT-5 mini$38.75 / mo

In: $8.75Out: $30.00

Grok 4.6$160.00 / mo

In: $70.00Out: $90.00

Estimated Cost Delta

GPT-5 mini is estimated to save $121.25/month ($1,455/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
GPT-5 mini:Pick GPT-5 mini when you are optimizing output cost.
3
GPT-5 mini:Pick GPT-5 mini 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 chatGPT-5 mini

Lower output list price ($2/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIGPT-5 mini

Lower TTFT (140 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 Workload	Recommended Pick	Evaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agents	Grok 4.6	Higher SWE-bench (69.1%).
High-volume chat	GPT-5 mini	Lower output list price ($2/1M).
Voice / low-latency UI	GPT-5 mini	Lower TTFT (140 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).

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.

launchAug 8, 2025

GPT-5 mini: the 2025 distill still useful as a cheap OpenAI baseline

High-volume agents that cannot pay Sol. Compare to Luna before you assume the new cheap SKU wins.

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.

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LIVE

OpenAI

GPT-5 mini

Elo 1,410

LiveBench61.2%

SWE-bench52.4%

Speed155 tok/s

Output cost$2/1M

xAI

Grok 4.6

Elo 1,592

LiveBench71.4%

SWE-bench69.1%

Speed118 tok/s

Output cost$6/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, GPT-5 mini or Grok 4.6?: 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, GPT-5 mini or Grok 4.6?: Grok 4.6 leads SWE-bench at 69.1% vs 52.4%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.
Which is cheaper to run in production?: GPT-5 mini output tokens are $2/1M versus $6/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, GPT-5 mini or Grok 4.6?: GPT-5 mini has the lower time-to-first-token (140 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 400k.
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. GPT-5 mini and Grok 4.6 Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All GPT-5 mini matchups →|All Grok 4.6 matchups →

GPT-5 mini vs OpenAI: o3 Mini (previous gpt-mini)GPT-5 mini vs GPT-5.6 Luna (next gpt-mini)Grok 4.6 vs Grok 4 (previous grok)GPT-4.5 Orion vs Grok 4.6 GPT-5.6 Terra vs Grok 4.6 GPT-5 vs Grok 4.6

GPT-5 mini vs Grok 4.6 benchmark

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

GPT-5 mini (4)vsGrok 4.6 (6)

GPT-5 mini: 4W (40%)Overall: Grok 4.6Grok 4.6: 6W (60%)

← GPT-5 miniGrok 4.6 →

Grok 4.6 (5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

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

Preference Elo

1,410vs1,592

Coding Elo

1,395vs1,568

SWE-bench

52.4%vs69.1%

LiveBench

61.2%vs71.4%

GPQA Diamond

72%vs84.6%

GPT-5 mini: 0WGrok 4.6: 5W

GPT-5 mini (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

155 tok/svs118 tok/s

Time to first token

140 msvs195 ms

GPT-5 mini: 2WGrok 4.6: 0W

GPT-5 mini (2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$2/1Mvs$6/1M

Input price

$0.25/1Mvs$2/1M

Context window

400kvs500k

GPT-5 mini: 2WGrok 4.6: 1W

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsGrok 4.6

Higher SWE-bench (69.1%).

High-volume chatGPT-5 mini

Lower output list price ($2/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIGPT-5 mini

Lower TTFT (140 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 Workload	Recommended Pick	Evaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agents	Grok 4.6	Higher SWE-bench (69.1%).
High-volume chat	GPT-5 mini	Lower output list price ($2/1M).
Voice / low-latency UI	GPT-5 mini	Lower TTFT (140 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).

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, GPT-5 mini or Grok 4.6?

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, GPT-5 mini or Grok 4.6?

Grok 4.6 leads SWE-bench at 69.1% vs 52.4%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.

Which is cheaper to run in production?

GPT-5 mini output tokens are $2/1M versus $6/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.

Which is faster, GPT-5 mini or Grok 4.6?

GPT-5 mini has the lower time-to-first-token (140 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 400k.

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. GPT-5 mini and Grok 4.6 Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Swap or Add Any Model to this Matchup

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Intelligence & Reasoning

Speed & Latency

Pricing & Capacity

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Grok 4.6

GPT-5 mini

GPT-5 mini

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Key Selection Recommendations

Recommended Workload Routing

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

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

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

GPT-5 mini: the 2025 distill still useful as a cheap OpenAI baseline

Grok 4 remains the previous xAI flagship on this catalog

Cast Your Matchup Vote

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CompareLLM Matrix

GPT-5 mini

Grok 4.6

Frequently Asked Questions

Related news

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

Swap or Add Any Model to this Matchup

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Intelligence & Reasoning

Speed & Latency

Pricing & Capacity

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Grok 4.6

GPT-5 mini

GPT-5 mini

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Key Selection Recommendations

Recommended Workload Routing

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

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

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

GPT-5 mini: the 2025 distill still useful as a cheap OpenAI baseline

Grok 4 remains the previous xAI flagship on this catalog

Cast Your Matchup Vote

Community Discussions (0)

Share card

CompareLLM Matrix

GPT-5 mini

Grok 4.6

Frequently Asked Questions

Related news

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons