Model Comparison

Grok 4.5 vs LongCat-Flash-LiteWhich is better in 2026?

Grok 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. LongCat-Flash-Lite is 17.1x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Grok 4.5 vs LongCat-Flash-Lite — which is better?

Grok 4.5 (by xAI) and LongCat-Flash-Lite (by Meituan) 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 LongCat-Flash-Lite is better at 0 benchmarks. Grok 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, LongCat-Flash-Lite is roughly 17.1x 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 LongCat-Flash-Lite if…

  • cost matters — it's about 17.1x 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 LongCat-Flash-Lite 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

LongCat-Flash-Lite costs less

For input processing, Grok 4.5 ($2.00/1M tokens) is 20.0x more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Lite ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Grok 4.5 ($6.00/1M tokens) is 15.0x more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Lite ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Grok 4.5 is more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Lite.*

* 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
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Lite
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.40
Best providerMeituan
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 LongCat-Flash-Lite's 256,000 tokens. Only LongCat-Flash-Lite specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

xAI
Grok 4.5
Input500,000 tokens
Output- tokens
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Lite
Input256,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Grok 4.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas LongCat-Flash-Lite 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

LongCat-Flash-Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok 4.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while LongCat-Flash-Lite uses MIT.

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

Grok 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

LongCat-Flash-Lite

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok 4.5 was released on 2026-07-16, while LongCat-Flash-Lite was released on 2026-02-05.

Grok 4.5 is 5 months newer than LongCat-Flash-Lite.

Grok 4.5

Jul 16, 2026

5 days ago

5mo newer
LongCat-Flash-Lite

Feb 5, 2026

5 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-02-01, while LongCat-Flash-Lite'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 LongCat-Flash-Lite's cutoff date.

Grok 4.5

Feb 2026

LongCat-Flash-Lite

—

Provider Availability

Grok 4.5 is available from xAI. LongCat-Flash-Lite is available from Meituan.

Grok 4.5

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

LongCat-Flash-Lite

meituan logo
Meituan
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
* 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 66.8%)
Meituan
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 LongCat-Flash-Lite side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok 4.5
✓ Preferred
LongCat-Flash-Lite
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
xAI
Grok 4.5
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Lite

FAQ

Common questions about Grok 4.5 vs LongCat-Flash-Lite.

Which is better, Grok 4.5 or LongCat-Flash-Lite?

Grok 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok 4.5 is made by xAI and LongCat-Flash-Lite is made by Meituan. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Grok 4.5 compare to LongCat-Flash-Lite 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%. LongCat-Flash-Lite scores MATH-500: 96.8%, MMLU: 85.5%, CMMLU: 82.5%, MMLU-Pro: 78.3%, Tau2 Retail: 73.1%.

Is Grok 4.5 cheaper than LongCat-Flash-Lite?

LongCat-Flash-Lite is 20.0x cheaper for input tokens. Grok 4.5 costs $2.00/M input and $6.00/M output via xai. LongCat-Flash-Lite costs $0.10/M input and $0.40/M output via meituan.

What are the context window sizes for Grok 4.5 and LongCat-Flash-Lite?

Grok 4.5 supports 500K tokens and LongCat-Flash-Lite 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 4.5 and LongCat-Flash-Lite?

Key differences include context window (500K vs 256K), input pricing ($2.00 vs $0.10/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Grok 4.5 and LongCat-Flash-Lite?

Grok 4.5 is developed by xAI and LongCat-Flash-Lite is developed by Meituan.

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