Model Comparison

GPT-5.6 Terra vs Magistral Small 2506Which is better in 2026?

GPT-5.6 Terra significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: GPT-5.6 Terra vs Magistral Small 2506 — which is better?

GPT-5.6 Terra (by OpenAI) and Magistral Small 2506 (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 Terra outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Magistral Small 2506 is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-5.6 Terra significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose GPT-5.6 Terra 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 Small 2506 if…

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

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

GPT-5.6 Terra outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Magistral Small 2506 is better at 0 benchmarks.

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

OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Terra
Input1,050,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mistral AI
Magistral Small 2506
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

GPT-5.6 Terra supports multimodal inputs, whereas Magistral Small 2506 does not.

GPT-5.6 Terra can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

GPT-5.6 Terra

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Magistral Small 2506

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-5.6 Terra is licensed under a proprietary license, while Magistral Small 2506 uses Apache 2.0.

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

GPT-5.6 Terra

Proprietary

Closed source

Magistral Small 2506

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-5.6 Terra was released on 2026-07-09, while Magistral Small 2506 was released on 2025-06-10.

GPT-5.6 Terra is 13 months newer than Magistral Small 2506.

GPT-5.6 Terra

Jul 9, 2026

2 weeks ago

1.1yr newer
Magistral Small 2506

Jun 10, 2025

1.1 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-5.6 Terra has a knowledge cutoff of 2026-02-16, while Magistral Small 2506 has a cutoff of 2025-06-01.

GPT-5.6 Terra has more recent training data (up to 2026-02-16), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Magistral Small 2506 (2025-06-01).

GPT-5.6 Terra

Feb 2026

8 mo newer
Magistral Small 2506

Jun 2025

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (1,050,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (92.9% vs 68.2%)
Mistral AI
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against GPT-5.6 Terra and Magistral Small 2506 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

GPT-5.6 Terra
✓ Preferred
Magistral Small 2506
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Terra
Mistral AI
Magistral Small 2506

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-5.6 Terra vs Magistral Small 2506.

Which is better, GPT-5.6 Terra or Magistral Small 2506?

GPT-5.6 Terra significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-5.6 Terra is made by OpenAI and Magistral Small 2506 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 Terra compare to Magistral Small 2506 in benchmarks?

GPT-5.6 Terra scores Connectors: 100.0%, HealthBench Consensus: 95.1%, Search and Function-Calling: 94.6%, GPQA: 92.9%, Capture-the-Flag Challenges (Internal): 91.8%. Magistral Small 2506 scores AIME 2024: 70.7%, GPQA: 68.2%, AIME 2025: 62.8%, LiveCodeBench: 51.3%.

What are the context window sizes for GPT-5.6 Terra and Magistral Small 2506?

GPT-5.6 Terra supports 1.1M tokens and Magistral Small 2506 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 Terra and Magistral Small 2506?

Key differences include multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes GPT-5.6 Terra and Magistral Small 2506?

GPT-5.6 Terra is developed by OpenAI and Magistral Small 2506 is developed by Mistral AI.

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