GPT-5.6 Luna Max vs GPT-6.1 Sol Max: which scores higher?

GPT-6.1 Sol Max leads the intelligence index 54.6 to 23.8. GPT-5.6 Luna Max costs 89% less on blended price. See token costs, speed and which to pick.

Metric	GPT-5.6 Luna (Max)	GPT-6.1 Sol (Max)
Intelligence Index	23.8	54.6
Input price (per 1M tokens)	$0.20	$2.00
Output price (per 1M tokens)	$1.20	$10.00
Output speed (tokens/s)	125	60
Time to first token	108s	5.4 min
Release date	2026-07-09	2026-09-29

Metric

GPT-5.6 Luna (Max)

GPT-6.1 Sol (Max)

Intelligence Index

23.8

54.6

Input price (per 1M tokens)

$0.20

$2.00

Output price (per 1M tokens)

$1.20

$10.00

Output speed (tokens/s)

125

Time to first token

108s

5.4 min

Release date

2026-07-09

2026-09-29

If you already build on OpenAI, both GPT-5.6 Luna (Max) and GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) are on the menu, and they are not interchangeable. This page is written automatically from catalogue numbers only: benchmark scores, list prices and measured speed. GPT-6.1 Sol Max leads the intelligence index 54.6 to 23.8, a gap of 30.8 points.

The headline benchmark

On the intelligence index, GPT-5.6 Luna Max scores 23.8 against 54.6 for GPT-6.1 Sol Max. These scores put the two models in different leagues on overall capability. Put another way, GPT-5.6 Luna Max would need 129% more on this index to draw level.

Among 109 active scored models, GPT-5.6 Luna Max sits 70th and GPT-6.1 Sol Max 8th.

For coding or maths work specifically, the catalogue has no dedicated index on either side yet.

Price per token

Per million tokens, GPT-5.6 Luna Max charges $0.20 for input and $1.20 for output, while GPT-6.1 Sol Max charges $2.00 and $10.00. For output tokens, GPT-6.1 Sol Max is 8.3 times the price of GPT-5.6 Luna Max.

Take 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens: that comes to $0.44 on GPT-5.6 Luna Max and $4.00 on GPT-6.1 Sol Max. For an agent that reads 50 million tokens and writes 5 million in a month, GPT-5.6 Luna Max would come in 89% lower: $16.00 for GPT-5.6 Luna Max against $150 for GPT-6.1 Sol Max.

Cost per point of intelligence

A blunt value measure, blended price over intelligence score, puts GPT-5.6 Luna Max at $0.019 and GPT-6.1 Sol Max at $0.073 per point. GPT-5.6 Luna Max delivers each index point for 74% less; whether GPT-6.1 Sol Max's extra 30.8 points are worth the premium depends on how often your tasks need them.

Which is newer

The release dates are July 9, 2026 for GPT-5.6 Luna Max and September 29, 2026 for GPT-6.1 Sol Max, about 3 months apart.

Throughput and time to first token

Measured output speed is 125 tokens per second for GPT-5.6 Luna Max and 60 tokens per second for GPT-6.1 Sol Max. GPT-5.6 Luna Max is ahead by 109% on throughput. Before any text appears, GPT-5.6 Luna Max takes 108 seconds and GPT-6.1 Sol Max 5.4 minutes. In an interactive app, GPT-5.6 Luna Max will feel noticeably more responsive. A first-token wait of that length suits background work better than live conversation.

For a 1,500-token response, first token plus generation comes to roughly 2.0 minutes on GPT-5.6 Luna Max and 5.8 minutes on GPT-6.1 Sol Max.

Frequently asked questions

Is GPT-6.1 Sol Max better than GPT-5.6 Luna Max?

It depends on what you need: GPT-6.1 Sol Max scores higher on the intelligence index, 54.6 to 23.8; GPT-5.6 Luna Max is 89% cheaper on blended price; and GPT-5.6 Luna Max streams output 2.1 times as fast.

Who makes GPT-5.6 Luna Max and GPT-6.1 Sol Max?

Both are OpenAI models, listed as separate models in the catalogue. GPT-5.6 Luna Max was released on July 9, 2026 and GPT-6.1 Sol Max on September 29, 2026.

Which model has lower latency?

GPT-5.6 Luna Max generates output faster, at 125 tokens per second against 60 tokens per second. GPT-5.6 Luna Max reaches its first token sooner (108 seconds against 5.4 minutes).

Which is newer, GPT-5.6 Luna Max or GPT-6.1 Sol Max?

GPT-6.1 Sol Max is newer. It was released on September 29, 2026, about 3 months after GPT-5.6 Luna Max (July 9, 2026).

Which is cheaper, GPT-5.6 Luna Max or GPT-6.1 Sol Max?

GPT-5.6 Luna Max is cheaper on a blended basis. GPT-5.6 Luna Max lists $0.20 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens; GPT-6.1 Sol Max lists $2.00 and $10.00. For 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens that is $0.44 against $4.00.

Final whistle

The verdict: GPT-6.1 Sol Max has more going for it here, but GPT-5.6 Luna Max is not without an argument. Pick GPT-6.1 Sol Max if you need the higher overall score (54.6 against 23.8) and you want the more recent release. Pick GPT-5.6 Luna Max if cost matters ($1.20 against $10.00 per million output tokens) and long outputs need to finish quickly.

Where the numbers come from

The scores, speed and prices in this comparison come from independent third-party model evaluations that Franklin AI syncs each day, and the article was written from a snapshot of them. For the latest results, open the GPT-5.6 Luna (Max) and GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.