Inkling vs Inkling Small
At a Glance
| Compare | InklingThinking Machines Lab | Inkling SmallThinking Machines Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v4.4 | #27 of 5747.4 score · 3/3 sources · complete | #31 of 5735.2 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing LiveBench · full-core range 23.5–56.8 |
| CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate | #13 of 27$0.090 per LiveBench case | UnrankedNot in the 27-model eligible cohort |
| EfficiencyHigher is better · MM Efficiency v1.9 | #22 of 2742.0 score · 3/3 sources · complete | UnrankedNot in the 27-model eligible cohort |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.95Deepinfra ↗ · Oct 15, 2026 | $0.45Deepinfra ↗ · Oct 19, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $4.05Deepinfra ↗ · Oct 15, 2026 | $1.20Deepinfra ↗ · Oct 19, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 1,049K | 1,049K |
| Model facts checked | Sep 3, 2026View model evidence → | Sep 25, 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 | Inkling-Small |
|---|---|---|
| ARC-AGI-1verified-v1-613c385b0c93 · verified_score · leader | 79.5095% of row best · percent · Inkling | 84.00100% of row best · percent · Inkling Small (XHigh) |
| ARC-AGI-2verified-v2-be40992860f9 · verified_score · leader | 36.5391% of row best · percent · Inkling | 40.14100% of row best · percent · Inkling Small (XHigh) |
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-10-15-a64ca3b12b6e · arena_rating · leader | 1,441.38100% of row best · rating · inkling; 95% CI [1437.08506747, 1445.68368363]; votes 40648; rank 74 | 1,412.6298% of row best · rating · Inkling Small; 95% CI [1407.97725962, 1417.26957820]; votes 32304; rank 135 |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 1 benchmark win | 2 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 | Inkling-Small |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Thinking Machines Lab | Thinking Machines Lab |
| Family | Inkling | Inkling |
| Model | Inkling | Inkling-Small |
| Version | Inkling | Inkling-Small |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-07-15 | 2026-07-30 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image, Video, Audio | Text, Image, Audio |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 1,049K | 1,049K |
| Total parameters | 975B | 276B |
| Active parameters | 41B | 12B |
| License | apache-2.0 | apache-2.0 |
| Open weights | Yes | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Provider access | Deepinfra (Standard), Fireworks Ai (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Standard) | Deepinfra (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) |
| Capabilities | agents, chat, coding, generation, reasoning, tools, vision | agents, chat, coding, generation, reasoning, tools, vision |
Inkling Capabilities
Inkling Small Capabilities
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Inkling vs Inkling Small FAQs
Is Inkling or Inkling Small better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Inkling and Inkling Small, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Inkling or Inkling Small?+
Inkling is $0.95 and Inkling Small is $0.45 per million tokens, so Inkling Small is cheaper on this metric. Inkling is $4.05 and Inkling Small is $1.20 per million tokens, so Inkling Small is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, Inkling or Inkling Small?+
Both models have the same sourced context window: 1,048,576 tokens each.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Inkling or Inkling Small?+
Inkling Small leads the current overall benchmark count. The result uses 3 protocol-matched benchmarks from 2 publishers; it is not a universal quality score.
Can Inkling or Inkling Small be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same sourced self-hosting status: supported. Inkling is open weight; Inkling Small is open weight.
Can Inkling and Inkling Small understand images?+
Inkling is documented with image input; Inkling Small is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Inkling or Inkling Small?+
Neither model has a sourced maximum output in this comparison, so a larger limit cannot be determined.
Do Inkling and Inkling Small support reasoning and tool use?+
Inkling: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Inkling Small: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Inkling or Inkling Small?+
Inkling has 4 sourced provider routes; Inkling Small has 2, so Inkling has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Inkling or Inkling Small?+
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.