Model Comparison

MAI-Thinking-1 vs GPT-5.6 LunaWhich is better in 2026?

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: MAI-Thinking-1 vs GPT-5.6 Luna — which is better?

MAI-Thinking-1 (by Microsoft) and GPT-5.6 Luna (by OpenAI) 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.

MAI-Thinking-1 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while GPT-5.6 Luna is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, HealthBench Professional, SWE-Bench Pro). GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose MAI-Thinking-1 if…

  • you are already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem

Choose GPT-5.6 Luna if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

MAI-Thinking-1 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while GPT-5.6 Luna is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, HealthBench Professional, SWE-Bench Pro).

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only GPT-5.6 Luna specifies input context (1,050,000 tokens). Only GPT-5.6 Luna specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

Microsoft
MAI-Thinking-1
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Luna
Input1,050,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

GPT-5.6 Luna supports multimodal inputs, whereas MAI-Thinking-1 does not.

GPT-5.6 Luna can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

MAI-Thinking-1

Text
Images
Audio
Video

GPT-5.6 Luna

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.

MAI-Thinking-1

Proprietary

Closed source

GPT-5.6 Luna

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

MAI-Thinking-1 was released on 2026-06-02, while GPT-5.6 Luna was released on 2026-07-09.

GPT-5.6 Luna is 1 month newer than MAI-Thinking-1.

MAI-Thinking-1

Jun 2, 2026

1 months ago

GPT-5.6 Luna

Jul 9, 2026

1 weeks ago

1mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-5.6 Luna has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-02-16, while MAI-Thinking-1's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm GPT-5.6 Luna's training data extends to 2026-02-16, but cannot make a direct comparison without MAI-Thinking-1's cutoff date.

MAI-Thinking-1

—

GPT-5.6 Luna

Feb 2026

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Microsoft

No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.

OpenAI
Larger context window (1,050,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (92.3% vs 84.2%)
Higher HealthBench Professional score (55.7% vs 35.0%)
Higher SWE-Bench Pro score (62.7% vs 52.8%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against MAI-Thinking-1 and GPT-5.6 Luna side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

MAI-Thinking-1
✓ Preferred
GPT-5.6 Luna
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Microsoft
MAI-Thinking-1
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Luna

FAQ

Common questions about MAI-Thinking-1 vs GPT-5.6 Luna.

Which is better, MAI-Thinking-1 or GPT-5.6 Luna?

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. MAI-Thinking-1 is made by Microsoft and GPT-5.6 Luna is made by OpenAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does MAI-Thinking-1 compare to GPT-5.6 Luna in benchmarks?

MAI-Thinking-1 scores LongFact: 98.0%, AIME 2025: 97.0%, AIME 2026: 94.5%, GraphWalks: 90.0%, AIR-Bench: 88.0%. GPT-5.6 Luna scores Connectors: 99.9%, HealthBench Consensus: 95.1%, GPQA: 92.3%, Search and Function-Calling: 89.7%, Capture-the-Flag Challenges (Internal): 85.2%.

What are the context window sizes for MAI-Thinking-1 and GPT-5.6 Luna?

MAI-Thinking-1 supports an unknown number of tokens and GPT-5.6 Luna supports 1.1M tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between MAI-Thinking-1 and GPT-5.6 Luna?

Key differences include multimodal support (no vs yes). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes MAI-Thinking-1 and GPT-5.6 Luna?

MAI-Thinking-1 is developed by Microsoft and GPT-5.6 Luna is developed by OpenAI.

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