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Grok-4.1 Thinking vs Inkling 2 Small

Inkling 2 Small leads the LLM Stats Score 47.1 to 15.5. Inkling 2 Small is 12.6x cheaper per token.

xAI · Thinking Machines Lab · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Inkling 2 Small leads the overall LLM Stats Score 47.1 to 15.5, ranking #41 overall.

On price, Inkling 2 Small is roughly 12.6x 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-4.1 Thinking

  • you want predictable pricing at $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output

Choose Inkling 2 Small

  • overall performance matters — it scores 47.1 and ranks #41 on LLM Stats
  • cost matters — it's about 12.6x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2026

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Grok-4.1 Thinking
xAI
Inkling 2 Small
Thinking Machines Lab
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
15.5
#268
47.1
#41
Coding
1.0
#274
36.2
#35
Agents
1.4
#208
33.3
#39
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
—
—
Input price
$3.00 / M
$0.30 / M
Output price
$15.00 / M
$1.00 / M
Context window
256,000
256,000

Individual benchmarks

11 reported for Grok-4.1 Thinking · 11 for Inkling 2 Small

No common benchmarks found

Grok-4.1 Thinking and Inkling 2 Smalldon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Inkling 2 Small costs less

For input processing, Grok-4.1 Thinking ($3.00/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than Inkling 2 Small ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Grok-4.1 Thinking ($15.00/1M tokens) is 15.0x more expensive than Inkling 2 Small ($1.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Grok-4.1 Thinking is more expensive than Inkling 2 Small.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Nov 10 2026 • llm-stats.com
xAI
Grok-4.1 Thinking
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerxAI
Thinking Machines Lab
Inkling 2 Small
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.00
Best providerUnknown Organization
Notice missing or incorrect data?

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 256,000 tokens. Only Grok-4.1 Thinking specifies output context (8,000 tokens).

xAI
Grok-4.1 Thinking
Input256,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Thinking Machines Lab
Inkling 2 Small
Input256,000 tokens
Output- tokens
Tue Nov 10 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Both Grok-4.1 Thinking and Inkling 2 Small support multimodal inputs.

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

Grok-4.1 Thinking

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Inkling 2 Small

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.

Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.

Grok-4.1 Thinking

Proprietary

Closed source

Inkling 2 Small

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-4.1 Thinking was released on 2025-11-17, while Inkling 2 Small was released on 2026-11-05.

Inkling 2 Small is 12 months newer than Grok-4.1 Thinking.

Grok-4.1 Thinking

Nov 17, 2025

11 months ago

Inkling 2 Small

Nov 5, 2026

4 days ago

11mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Grok-4.1 Thinking is available from xAI. Inkling 2 Small is available from Thinking Machines Lab.

Grok-4.1 Thinking

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

Inkling 2 Small

thinking-machines logo
Unknown Organization
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Grok-4.1 Thinking and Inkling 2 Small side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok-4.1 Thinking
✓ Preferred
Inkling 2 Small
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-4.1 Thinking vs Inkling 2 Small.

Which is better, Grok-4.1 Thinking or Inkling 2 Small?

Inkling 2 Small leads the LLM Stats Score 47.1 to 15.5. Grok-4.1 Thinking is made by xAI and Inkling 2 Small is made by Thinking Machines Lab. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does Grok-4.1 Thinking compare to Inkling 2 Small in benchmarks?

Grok-4.1 Thinking scores Creative Writing v3: 86.1%, WMDP: 84.0%, EQ-Bench: 79.3%, ProtocolQA: 79.0%, LMArena Text Leaderboard: 74.2%. Inkling 2 Small scores GPQA: 93.0%, BrowseComp: 90.2%, CharXiv-R: 85.6%, MCP Atlas: 85.0%, SWE-Bench Verified: 82.2%.

Is Grok-4.1 Thinking cheaper than Inkling 2 Small?

Inkling 2 Small is 10.0x cheaper for input tokens. Grok-4.1 Thinking costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via xai. Inkling 2 Small costs $0.30/M input and $1.00/M output via thinking-machines.

What are the context window sizes for Grok-4.1 Thinking and Inkling 2 Small?

Grok-4.1 Thinking supports 256K tokens and Inkling 2 Small supports 256K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Grok-4.1 Thinking and Inkling 2 Small?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (15.5 vs 47.1), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.30/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Grok-4.1 Thinking and Inkling 2 Small?

Grok-4.1 Thinking is developed by xAI and Inkling 2 Small is developed by Thinking Machines Lab.

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