Model Comparison

Grok 4.5 vs Hermes 3 70BWhich is better in 2026?

Grok 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Hermes 3 70B is 4.9x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Grok 4.5 vs Hermes 3 70B — which is better?

Grok 4.5 (by xAI) and Hermes 3 70B (by Nous Research) 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.

Grok 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Hermes 3 70B is better at 0 benchmarks. Grok 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Hermes 3 70B is roughly 4.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Grok 4.5 also accepts a larger context window (500,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Grok 4.5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 500,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Hermes 3 70B if…

  • cost matters — it's about 4.9x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Grok 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Hermes 3 70B is better at 0 benchmarks.

Grok 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Hermes 3 70B costs less

For input processing, Grok 4.5 ($2.00/1M tokens) is 5.7x more expensive than Hermes 3 70B ($0.35/1M tokens).

For output processing, Grok 4.5 ($6.00/1M tokens) is 4.3x more expensive than Hermes 3 70B ($1.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Grok 4.5 is more expensive than Hermes 3 70B.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com
xAI
Grok 4.5
Input tokens$2.00
Output tokens$6.00
Best providerxAI
Nous Research
Hermes 3 70B
Input tokens$0.35
Output tokens$1.40
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Grok 4.5 accepts 500,000 input tokens compared to Hermes 3 70B's 131,072 tokens. Only Hermes 3 70B specifies output context (16,384 tokens).

xAI
Grok 4.5
Input500,000 tokens
Output- tokens
Nous Research
Hermes 3 70B
Input131,072 tokens
Output16,384 tokens
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Grok 4.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Hermes 3 70B does not.

Grok 4.5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Grok 4.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Hermes 3 70B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok 4.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Hermes 3 70B uses Apache 2.0.

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

Grok 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Hermes 3 70B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok 4.5 was released on 2026-07-16, while Hermes 3 70B was released on 2024-08-15.

Grok 4.5 is 23 months newer than Hermes 3 70B.

Grok 4.5

Jul 16, 2026

5 days ago

1.9yr newer
Hermes 3 70B

Aug 15, 2024

1.9 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-02-01, while Hermes 3 70B's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Grok 4.5's training data extends to 2026-02-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Hermes 3 70B's cutoff date.

Grok 4.5

Feb 2026

Hermes 3 70B

—

Provider Availability

Grok 4.5 is available from xAI. Hermes 3 70B is available from DeepInfra.

Grok 4.5

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $2.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $6.00/1M

Hermes 3 70B

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.35/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.40/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

xAI
Larger context window (500,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (93.0% vs 66.1%)
Nous Research
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Grok 4.5 and Hermes 3 70B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok 4.5
✓ Preferred
Hermes 3 70B
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
xAI
Grok 4.5
Nous Research
Hermes 3 70B

FAQ

Common questions about Grok 4.5 vs Hermes 3 70B.

Which is better, Grok 4.5 or Hermes 3 70B?

Grok 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok 4.5 is made by xAI and Hermes 3 70B is made by Nous Research. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Grok 4.5 compare to Hermes 3 70B in benchmarks?

Grok 4.5 scores GPQA: 93.0%, Terminal-Bench 2.1: 83.3%, Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index v1.1: 76.0%, SWE-Bench Pro: 64.7%, AA-Omniscience Index: 63.0%. Hermes 3 70B scores MT-Bench: 89.9%, HellaSwag: 88.2%, BoolQ: 88.0%, PIQA: 84.4%, Winogrande: 83.2%.

Is Grok 4.5 cheaper than Hermes 3 70B?

Hermes 3 70B is 5.7x cheaper for input tokens. Grok 4.5 costs $2.00/M input and $6.00/M output via xai. Hermes 3 70B costs $0.35/M input and $1.40/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Grok 4.5 and Hermes 3 70B?

Grok 4.5 supports 500K tokens and Hermes 3 70B supports 131K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Grok 4.5 and Hermes 3 70B?

Key differences include context window (500K vs 131K), input pricing ($2.00 vs $0.35/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Grok 4.5 and Hermes 3 70B?

Grok 4.5 is developed by xAI and Hermes 3 70B is developed by Nous Research.

Related comparisons