Model Comparison

GPT-5.6 Luna vs Magistral MediumWhich is better in 2026?

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: GPT-5.6 Luna vs Magistral Medium — which is better?

GPT-5.6 Luna (by OpenAI) and Magistral Medium (by Mistral AI) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

GPT-5.6 Luna outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Magistral Medium is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose GPT-5.6 Luna if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Magistral Medium if…

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

GPT-5.6 Luna outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Magistral Medium is better at 0 benchmarks.

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only GPT-5.6 Luna specifies input context (1,050,000 tokens). Only GPT-5.6 Luna specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Luna
Input1,050,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mistral AI
Magistral Medium
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both GPT-5.6 Luna and Magistral Medium support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

GPT-5.6 Luna

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Magistral Medium

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-5.6 Luna is licensed under a proprietary license, while Magistral Medium uses Apache 2.0.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

GPT-5.6 Luna

Proprietary

Closed source

Magistral Medium

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-5.6 Luna was released on 2026-07-09, while Magistral Medium was released on 2025-06-10.

GPT-5.6 Luna is 13 months newer than Magistral Medium.

GPT-5.6 Luna

Jul 9, 2026

2 weeks ago

1.1yr newer
Magistral Medium

Jun 10, 2025

1.1 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-5.6 Luna has a knowledge cutoff of 2026-02-16, while Magistral Medium has a cutoff of 2025-06-01.

GPT-5.6 Luna has more recent training data (up to 2026-02-16), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Magistral Medium (2025-06-01).

GPT-5.6 Luna

Feb 2026

8 mo newer
Magistral Medium

Jun 2025

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (1,050,000 tokens)
Higher GPQA score (92.3% vs 70.8%)
Mistral AI
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against GPT-5.6 Luna and Magistral Medium side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

GPT-5.6 Luna
✓ Preferred
Magistral Medium
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Luna
Mistral AI
Magistral Medium

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-5.6 Luna vs Magistral Medium.

Which is better, GPT-5.6 Luna or Magistral Medium?

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-5.6 Luna is made by OpenAI and Magistral Medium is made by Mistral AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does GPT-5.6 Luna compare to Magistral Medium in benchmarks?

GPT-5.6 Luna scores Connectors: 99.9%, HealthBench Consensus: 95.1%, GPQA: 92.3%, Search and Function-Calling: 89.7%, Capture-the-Flag Challenges (Internal): 85.2%. Magistral Medium scores AIME 2024: 73.6%, GPQA: 70.8%, AIME 2025: 64.9%, LiveCodeBench: 50.3%, Aider-Polyglot: 47.1%.

What are the context window sizes for GPT-5.6 Luna and Magistral Medium?

GPT-5.6 Luna supports 1.1M tokens and Magistral Medium supports an unknown number of tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between GPT-5.6 Luna and Magistral Medium?

Key differences include licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes GPT-5.6 Luna and Magistral Medium?

GPT-5.6 Luna is developed by OpenAI and Magistral Medium is developed by Mistral AI.

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