Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026

Grok 4.6 vs Qwen 3 Max benchmark

Name: Grok 4.6 vs Qwen 3 Max AI benchmark comparison
Creator: CompareLLM
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This page compares Grok 4.6 (xAI) and Qwen 3 Max (Alibaba) using the latest snapshots we have as of Aug 16, 2026. On preference Elo, Grok 4.6 is ahead by 74 points (1,592 vs 1,518; seed-bootstrap (Aug 16, 2026)). On SWE-bench coding, Grok 4.6 resolves 69.1% versus 67.8% (seed-bootstrap (Aug 16, 2026)). Grok 4.6 streams faster (118 tok/s) while Qwen 3 Max is the cheaper output token ($3.9/1M). 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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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

Alibaba

Qwen 3 Max

Alibaba flagship. Strong math and multilingual code.

Elo 1,518$3.9/1M 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.

Grok 4.6 (8)vsQwen 3 Max (2)

Grok 4.6: 8W (80%)Overall: Grok 4.6Qwen 3 Max: 2W (20%)

← Grok 4.6Qwen 3 Max →

Grok 4.6 (5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

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

Preference Elo

1,592vs1,518

Coding Elo

1,568vs1,526

SWE-bench

69.1%vs67.8%

LiveBench

71.4%vs69.4%

GPQA Diamond

84.6%vs83.1%

Grok 4.6: 5WQwen 3 Max: 0W

Grok 4.6 (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

118 tok/svs80 tok/s

Time to first token

195 msvs280 ms

Grok 4.6: 2WQwen 3 Max: 0W

Qwen 3 Max (2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$6/1Mvs$3.9/1M

Input price

$2/1Mvs$0.78/1M

Context window

500kvs262k

Grok 4.6: 1WQwen 3 Max: 2W

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 5/6

Preference Elo

Grok 4.6

74 pts advantage

Throughput Speed

Grok 4.6

38 tok/s faster

Price Efficiency

Qwen 3 Max

$2.10/1M cheaper

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

—

Elo

High is better

+5%1,592

EloHigh is better

1,518

Code Elo

High is better

+3%1,568

Code EloHigh is better

1,526

LiveBench

High is better

+3%71.4%

LiveBenchHigh is better

69.4%

SWE-bench

High is better

+2%69.1%

SWE-benchHigh is better

67.8%

GPQA

High is better

+2%84.6%

GPQAHigh is better

83.1%

TTFT

Low is better

+44%195 ms

TTFTLow is better

280 ms

Speed

High is better

+48%118 tok/s

SpeedHigh is better

80 tok/s

In $

Low is better

$2/1M

In $Low is better

$0.78/1M+156%

Out $

Low is better

$6/1M

Out $Low is better

$3.9/1M+54%

Context

High is better

+91%500k

ContextHigh is better

262k

Interactive Simulator

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

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

Save up to 46% with Qwen 3 Max

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: $70.00Out: $90.00

Qwen 3 Max$85.80 / mo

In: $27.30Out: $58.50

Estimated Cost Delta

Qwen 3 Max is estimated to save $74.20/month ($890/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 3 Max:Pick Qwen 3 Max when you are optimizing output cost.
3
Grok 4.6:Pick Grok 4.6 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 3 Max

Lower output list price ($3.9/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIGrok 4.6

Lower TTFT (195 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	Qwen 3 Max	Lower output list price ($3.9/1M).
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).

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.

launchApr 18, 2026

Qwen 3 Max: Alibaba’s flagship for math and multilingual code

Closed flagship. Strong math. Compare to Sol and Opus on GPQA and SWE-bench, not on brand heat.

launchSep 20, 2025

Qwen3 235B: the open MoE Qwen, not the Max SKU

Sep 2025 open-weight mixture-of-experts. Self-host path. Don’t confuse it with Qwen 3 Max.

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LIVE

xAI

Grok 4.6

Elo 1,592

LiveBench71.4%

SWE-bench69.1%

Speed118 tok/s

Output cost$6/1M

Alibaba

Qwen 3 Max

Elo 1,518

LiveBench69.4%

SWE-bench67.8%

Speed80 tok/s

Output cost$3.9/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, Grok 4.6 or Qwen 3 Max?: 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 3 Max?: Grok 4.6 leads SWE-bench at 69.1% vs 67.8%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.
Which is cheaper to run in production?: Qwen 3 Max output tokens are $3.9/1M versus $6/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, Grok 4.6 or Qwen 3 Max?: Grok 4.6 has the lower time-to-first-token (195 ms vs 280 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 262k.
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 3 Max Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All Grok 4.6 matchups →|All Qwen 3 Max matchups →

Grok 4.6 vs Grok 4 (previous grok)Qwen 3 Max vs Qwen QwQ 32B (previous qwen)Qwen 3 Max vs Qwen3.8 27B (next qwen)Claude Opus 4.8 vs Grok 4.6 GPT-5.6 Sol vs Grok 4.6 Claude Opus 4.6 vs Grok 4.6

Grok 4.6 vs Qwen 3 Max benchmark

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

Grok 4.6 (8)vsQwen 3 Max (2)

Grok 4.6: 8W (80%)Overall: Grok 4.6Qwen 3 Max: 2W (20%)

← Grok 4.6Qwen 3 Max →

Grok 4.6 (5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

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

Preference Elo

1,592vs1,518

Coding Elo

1,568vs1,526

SWE-bench

69.1%vs67.8%

LiveBench

71.4%vs69.4%

GPQA Diamond

84.6%vs83.1%

Grok 4.6: 5WQwen 3 Max: 0W

Grok 4.6 (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

118 tok/svs80 tok/s

Time to first token

195 msvs280 ms

Grok 4.6: 2WQwen 3 Max: 0W

Qwen 3 Max (2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$6/1Mvs$3.9/1M

Input price

$2/1Mvs$0.78/1M

Context window

500kvs262k

Grok 4.6: 1WQwen 3 Max: 2W

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsGrok 4.6

Higher SWE-bench (69.1%).

High-volume chatQwen 3 Max

Lower output list price ($3.9/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIGrok 4.6

Lower TTFT (195 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	Qwen 3 Max	Lower output list price ($3.9/1M).
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).

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, Grok 4.6 or Qwen 3 Max?

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 3 Max?

Grok 4.6 leads SWE-bench at 69.1% vs 67.8%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.

Which is cheaper to run in production?

Qwen 3 Max output tokens are $3.9/1M versus $6/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.

Which is faster, Grok 4.6 or Qwen 3 Max?

Grok 4.6 has the lower time-to-first-token (195 ms vs 280 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 262k.

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 3 Max 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

Grok 4.6

Qwen 3 Max

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

Qwen 3 Max: Alibaba’s flagship for math and multilingual code

Qwen3 235B: the open MoE Qwen, not the Max SKU

Cast Your Matchup Vote

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CompareLLM Matrix

Grok 4.6

Qwen 3 Max

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

Grok 4.6

Qwen 3 Max

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

Qwen 3 Max: Alibaba’s flagship for math and multilingual code

Qwen3 235B: the open MoE Qwen, not the Max SKU

Cast Your Matchup Vote

Community Discussions (0)

Share card

CompareLLM Matrix

Grok 4.6

Qwen 3 Max

Frequently Asked Questions

Related news

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons