Model Comparison

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

Grok 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. LongCat-Flash-Thinking is 5.7x cheaper per token.

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

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

On price, LongCat-Flash-Thinking is roughly 5.7x 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-Thinking if…

  • cost matters — it's about 5.7x 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-Thinking 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-Thinking costs less

For input processing, Grok 4.5 ($2.00/1M tokens) is 6.7x more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Grok 4.5 ($6.00/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($1.20/1M tokens).

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

* 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-Thinking
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.20
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-Thinking's 128,000 tokens. Only LongCat-Flash-Thinking specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

xAI
Grok 4.5
Input500,000 tokens
Output- tokens
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Input128,000 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-Thinking 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-Thinking

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok 4.5 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.

Grok 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

LongCat-Flash-Thinking

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok 4.5 was released on 2026-07-16, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.

Grok 4.5 is 10 months newer than LongCat-Flash-Thinking.

Grok 4.5

Jul 16, 2026

5 days ago

9mo newer
LongCat-Flash-Thinking

Sep 22, 2025

10 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

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

Grok 4.5

Feb 2026

LongCat-Flash-Thinking

—

Provider Availability

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

Grok 4.5

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

LongCat-Flash-Thinking

meituan logo
Meituan
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
* 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 81.5%)
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-Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

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

FAQ

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

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

Grok 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok 4.5 is made by xAI and LongCat-Flash-Thinking 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-Thinking 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-Thinking scores MATH-500: 99.2%, ZebraLogic: 95.5%, AIME 2024: 93.3%, AIME 2025: 90.6%, MMLU-Redux: 89.3%.

Is Grok 4.5 cheaper than LongCat-Flash-Thinking?

LongCat-Flash-Thinking is 6.7x cheaper for input tokens. Grok 4.5 costs $2.00/M input and $6.00/M output via xai. LongCat-Flash-Thinking costs $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output via meituan.

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

Grok 4.5 supports 500K tokens and LongCat-Flash-Thinking supports 128K 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-Thinking?

Key differences include context window (500K vs 128K), input pricing ($2.00 vs $0.30/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-Thinking?

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

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