Grok-3 vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Grok-3 and LongCat-Flash-Thinking are closely matched at 30.4 and 28.7 on the LLM Stats Score. LongCat-Flash-Thinking is 11.4x cheaper per token.
xAI · Meituan · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Grok-3 and LongCat-Flash-Thinking are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 30.4 and 28.7.
The models split the 4 individual benchmarks reported for both models evenly.
On price, LongCat-Flash-Thinking is roughly 11.4x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Grok-3
- you want predictable pricing at $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output
Choose LongCat-Flash-Thinking
- cost matters — it's about 11.4x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
5 reported for Grok-3 · 14 for LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Grok-3 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA), while LongCat-Flash-Thinking is better at 0 benchmarks.
Grok-3 has a slight edge in benchmark performance.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Grok-3 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($0.30/1M tokens).
For output processing, Grok-3 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 12.5x more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($1.20/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Grok-3 is more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Thinking.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 128,000 tokens. LongCat-Flash-Thinking can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Grok-3 is limited to 8,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Grok-3 supports multimodal inputs, whereas LongCat-Flash-Thinking does not.
Grok-3 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Grok-3
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
Grok-3 is licensed under a proprietary license, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Grok-3 was released on 2025-02-17, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.
LongCat-Flash-Thinking is 7 months newer than Grok-3.
Feb 17, 2025
1.6 years ago
Sep 22, 2025
1.0 years ago
7mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Grok-3 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Grok-3's training data extends to 2024-11-17, but cannot make a direct comparison without LongCat-Flash-Thinking's cutoff date.
Nov 2024
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Provider Availability
Grok-3 is available from xAI. LongCat-Flash-Thinking is available from Meituan.
Grok-3
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Grok-3 and LongCat-Flash-Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Grok-3 vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking.