Claude Opus 4.5 vs Inkling 2 Small
Inkling 2 Small leads the LLM Stats Score 47.2 to 37.6. Inkling 2 Small is 21.1x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · Thinking Machines Lab · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Inkling 2 Small leads the overall LLM Stats Score 47.2 to 37.6, ranking #39 overall.
In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Inkling 2 Small wins 3; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Inkling 2 Small is roughly 21.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Inkling 2 Small also accepts a larger context window (256,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude Opus 4.5
- you want predictable pricing at $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output
Choose Inkling 2 Small
- overall performance matters — it scores 47.2 and ranks #39 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and agents — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 3 of 3 exact shared results
- cost matters — it's about 21.1x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 256,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
11 reported for Claude Opus 4.5 · 11 for Inkling 2 Small
Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Inkling 2 Small is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MCP Atlas, SWE-Bench Verified).
Inkling 2 Small significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 16.7x more expensive than Inkling 2 Small ($0.30/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 25.0x more expensive than Inkling 2 Small ($1.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.5 is more expensive than Inkling 2 Small.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Inkling 2 Small accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to Claude Opus 4.5's 200,000 tokens. Only Claude Opus 4.5 specifies output context (64,000 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Claude Opus 4.5 and Inkling 2 Small support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Opus 4.5
Inkling 2 Small
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.
Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.
Proprietary
Closed source
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Opus 4.5 was released on 2025-11-24, while Inkling 2 Small was released on 2026-11-05.
Inkling 2 Small is 12 months newer than Claude Opus 4.5.
Nov 24, 2025
11 months ago
Nov 5, 2026
3 days ago
11mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Claude Opus 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-31, while Inkling 2 Small's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Claude Opus 4.5's training data extends to 2025-03-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Inkling 2 Small's cutoff date.
Mar 2025
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Provider Availability
Claude Opus 4.5 is available from Anthropic. Inkling 2 Small is available from Thinking Machines Lab.
Claude Opus 4.5
Inkling 2 Small
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 4.5 and Inkling 2 Small side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4.5 vs Inkling 2 Small.