Inkling vs Grok 4.5
At a Glance
| Compare | InklingThinking Machines Lab | Grok 4.5xAI |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v2.5 | #34 of 4645.4 score · 3/3 sources · complete | #25 of 4660.1 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate | #18 of 44$0.090 per LiveBench case | #15 of 44$0.063 per LiveBench case |
| EfficiencyHigher is better · MM Efficiency v1.5 | #28 of 3848.1 score · 3/3 sources · complete | #11 of 3859.2 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.95Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $2.00Xai ↗ · Sep 3, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $4.05Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $6.00Xai ↗ · Sep 3, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 1,049K | 500K |
| Model facts checked | Sep 3, 2026View model evidence → | Sep 3, 2026View model evidence → |
Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →
Available Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Inkling | Grok 4.5 |
|---|---|---|
| ARC-AGI-1verified-v1-ba05d69f6453 · verified_score · leader | 79.5091% of row best · percent · Inkling | 87.17100% of row best · percent · Grok 4.5 (Medium) |
| ARC-AGI-2verified-v2-6c676fa3e9af · verified_score · leader | 36.5369% of row best · percent · Inkling | 52.64100% of row best · percent · Grok 4.5 (Medium) |
| LMArena Agent Arenaagent-2026-09-15-d25aabda0010 · outcome_score · leader | -10.0287% of row best · score · Inkling; 95% CI [-10.93664189, -9.10513108]; sessions 42313; observations 1624204; rank 42 | 2.92100% of row best · score · Grok 4.5; 95% CI [1.93207740, 3.90928463]; sessions 38146; observations 1942877; rank 19 |
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader | 1,439.6899% of row best · rating · inkling; 95% CI [1434.76600975, 1444.58550789]; votes 25922; rank 67 | 1,450.13100% of row best · rating · grok-4.5; 95% CI [1445.44268767, 1454.81726995]; votes 30103; rank 45 |
| LiveBench2026-06-25 · overall · leader | 76.4796% of row best · percent · inkling-xhigh · 22,213 output tokens / case | 80.01100% of row best · percent · grok-4.5 · 10,517 output tokens / case |
| ToneBench2026-09-11-10-task-4ef099199c9c · overall_score · unverified | 79.4197% of row best · points · Inkling · 5,785 output tokens / case | 82.23100% of row best · points · Grok 4.5 · 2,688 output tokens / case |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 0 benchmark wins | 5 benchmark winsOverall lead |
Third-party benchmark Only like-for-like primary-publisher results are shown; raw scores, relative scores, configuration, and token spend remain visible.
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | Inkling | Grok 4.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Thinking Machines Lab | xAI |
| Family | Inkling | Grok 4 |
| Model | Inkling | Grok 4.5 |
| Version | Inkling | Grok 4.5 |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-07-15 | 2026-07-16 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image, Video, Audio | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 1,049K | 500K |
| Total parameters | 975B | Unknown |
| Active parameters | 41B | Unknown |
| License | apache-2.0 | Unknown |
| Open weights | Yes | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Provider access | Deepinfra (Standard), Fireworks Ai (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Standard) | Xai (Standard) |
| Capabilities | agents, chat, coding, generation, reasoning, tools, vision | chat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools |
Inkling Capabilities
Grok 4.5 Capabilities
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Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Inkling vs Grok 4.5 FAQs
Is Inkling or Grok 4.5 better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Inkling and Grok 4.5, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Inkling or Grok 4.5?+
Inkling is $0.95 and Grok 4.5 is $2.00 per million tokens, so Inkling is cheaper on this metric. Inkling is $4.05 and Grok 4.5 is $6.00 per million tokens, so Inkling is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, Inkling or Grok 4.5?+
Inkling has the larger sourced context window. Inkling supports 1,049K and Grok 4.5 supports 500K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Inkling or Grok 4.5?+
Grok 4.5 leads the current overall benchmark count. The result uses 5 protocol-matched benchmarks from 3 publishers; it is not a universal quality score.
Can Inkling or Grok 4.5 be self-hosted?+
Inkling is the only model in this pair currently marked as self-hostable. Inkling is open weight; Grok 4.5 is not marked open weight.
Can Inkling and Grok 4.5 understand images?+
Inkling is documented with image input; Grok 4.5 is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Inkling or Grok 4.5?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. Inkling is — and Grok 4.5 is —.
Do Inkling and Grok 4.5 support reasoning and tool use?+
Inkling: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Grok 4.5: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Inkling or Grok 4.5?+
Inkling has 4 sourced provider routes; Grok 4.5 has 1, so Inkling has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Inkling or Grok 4.5?+
There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.