gpt-5.6 vs grok-4-1-fast
grok-4-1-fast is 25.0× cheaper on input than gpt-5.6.
| gpt-5.6 | grok-4-1-fast | |
|---|---|---|
| Input / 1M | $5.00 | $0.20 |
| Cached input / 1M | $0.50 | $0.05 |
| Output / 1M | $30.00 | $0.50 |
| Context window | 1.1M | 2M |
| Max output | 128K | 2M |
| Provider | OpenAI | xAI |
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Token count | exact | estimated |
Capability for the money
Independent measurement · Artificial Analysis · read 2026-08-11Not the same tier: gpt-5.6 leads grok-4-1-fast by 36.2 points on following instructions (IFBench), for 40.9× the price.
Following instructions
extraction, classification, sticking to a format
IFBenchgpt-5.6 +36.2
Tool use
multi-step agent work against real tools
τ²-benchgpt-5.6 +21.4
Hard reasoning
graduate-level science and multi-step analysis
GPQA Diamondgpt-5.6 +30.4
Averaged over the benchmarks both models sat, grok-4-1-fast returns 198.7 points of pass rate per dollar of blended price against 7.5 — the ratio that decides whether the dearer model earns its rate.
Each figure is a pass rate: the share of that test set the model answered correctly, measured by a third party rather than self-reported by the lab. Rows are different tests of different difficulty, so compare a model against the other model, not one row against the next. No published coding score for one of these models, so that lens is omitted. And a benchmark is not your workload — it narrows the shortlist, it does not pick for you.
Which to pick
- Cheaper input: grok-4-1-fast
- Cheaper output: grok-4-1-fast
- Larger context: grok-4-1-fast
- Better at following instructions: gpt-5.6 (72.7% vs 36.5% on IFBench)
- Better at tool use: gpt-5.6 (85.1% vs 63.7% on τ²-bench)
- Better at hard reasoning: gpt-5.6 (94.1% vs 63.7% on GPQA Diamond)
List price is not production cost. Output length, cache hit rate, retries and task quality move the real number more than the headline rate does — price your own prompt on the token ledger before deciding.
Related comparisons
gpt-5.6 detail · grok-4-1-fast detail · All OpenAI pricing · All comparisons