GPT-5.6 Terra Max vs GPT-6 Sol Max compared

GPT-6 Sol Max leads the intelligence index 44.2 to 32.3. GPT-6 Sol Max costs 11% less on blended price. Benchmarks, sample bills, speed and a verdict.

Metric	GPT-5.6 Terra (Max)	GPT-6 Sol (Max)
Intelligence Index	32.3	44.2
Input price (per 1M tokens)	$2.00	$2.00
Output price (per 1M tokens)	$12.00	$10.00
Output speed (tokens/s)	116	127
Time to first token	3.4 min	91s
Release date	2026-07-09	2026-09-22

Metric

GPT-5.6 Terra (Max)

GPT-6 Sol (Max)

Intelligence Index

32.3

44.2

Input price (per 1M tokens)

$2.00

Output price (per 1M tokens)

$12.00

$10.00

Output speed (tokens/s)

116

127

Time to first token

3.4 min

91s

Release date

2026-07-09

2026-09-22

If you already build on OpenAI, both GPT-5.6 Terra (Max) and GPT-6 Sol (Max) are on the menu, and they are not interchangeable. Everything below is read from the benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's catalogue; nothing here comes from a hands-on test. Their widest difference is the intelligence index, with GPT-6 Sol Max ahead by 11.9 points (44.2 versus 32.3).

Overall capability: 11.9 points apart

The catalogue puts GPT-5.6 Terra Max at 32.3 and GPT-6 Sol Max at 44.2 on its intelligence index. That is a wide gap for an aggregate score. In relative terms, GPT-6 Sol Max scores 37% higher.

Among 109 active scored models, GPT-5.6 Terra Max sits 46th and GPT-6 Sol Max 26th.

There are no coding or math index scores for either model in the catalogue, which keeps this comparison at the aggregate level.

Token pricing and a sample bill

GPT-5.6 Terra Max lists $2.00 per million input tokens and $12.00 per million output tokens; GPT-6 Sol Max lists $2.00 and $10.00. GPT-5.6 Terra Max costs 1.2 times as much per output token.

Take 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens: that comes to $4.40 on GPT-5.6 Terra Max and $4.00 on GPT-6 Sol Max. For writing 2,000 drafts of 2,000 output tokens from 300-token prompts, GPT-6 Sol Max would come in 16% lower: $49.20 for GPT-5.6 Terra Max against $41.20 for GPT-6 Sol Max. Blended at three input tokens per output token, the effective rates are $4.50 for GPT-5.6 Terra Max and $4.00 for GPT-6 Sol Max.

Score per dollar

Per point of intelligence index, GPT-5.6 Terra Max costs $0.14 of blended price per million tokens and GPT-6 Sol Max $0.090. With the higher score and the lower cost per point, GPT-6 Sol Max is the better value per point on these numbers.

When they came out

The release dates are July 9, 2026 for GPT-5.6 Terra Max and September 22, 2026 for GPT-6 Sol Max, about 2 months apart.

Throughput and time to first token

Measured output speed is 116 tokens per second for GPT-5.6 Terra Max and 127 tokens per second for GPT-6 Sol Max. On long outputs, that is a real advantage for GPT-6 Sol Max. Before any text appears, GPT-5.6 Terra Max takes 3.4 minutes and GPT-6 Sol Max 91 seconds. GPT-6 Sol Max gets to its first token 2.2 times as fast. A first-token wait of that length suits background work better than live conversation.

For a 400-token response, first token plus generation comes to roughly 3.5 minutes on GPT-5.6 Terra Max and 94 seconds on GPT-6 Sol Max.

Quick answers

Is GPT-6 Sol Max better than GPT-5.6 Terra Max?

GPT-6 Sol Max comes out ahead on every measure the data separates: GPT-6 Sol Max scores higher on the intelligence index, 44.2 to 32.3; GPT-6 Sol Max is 11% cheaper on blended price; and GPT-6 Sol Max streams output 1.1 times as fast.

Is GPT-6 Sol Max cheaper than GPT-5.6 Terra Max?

GPT-6 Sol Max is cheaper on a blended basis. GPT-5.6 Terra Max lists $2.00 per million input tokens and $12.00 per million output tokens; GPT-6 Sol Max lists $2.00 and $10.00. For 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens that is $4.40 against $4.00.

Who makes GPT-5.6 Terra Max and GPT-6 Sol Max?

Both are OpenAI models, listed as separate models in the catalogue. GPT-5.6 Terra Max was released on July 9, 2026 and GPT-6 Sol Max on September 22, 2026.

When were GPT-5.6 Terra Max and GPT-6 Sol Max released?

GPT-6 Sol Max is newer. It was released on September 22, 2026, about 2 months after GPT-5.6 Terra Max (July 9, 2026).

Where do these numbers come from?

The figures are the recorded benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's model catalogue. This page is written from that data automatically; neither model was tested by hand for it.

Final whistle

Short answer: GPT-6 Sol Max comes out ahead on every recorded measure where they differ, so it is the easier choice unless something outside this data matters to you. Pick GPT-5.6 Terra Max only if your own tests show an advantage the recorded data does not. Pick GPT-6 Sol Max if you need the higher overall score (44.2 against 32.3) and users are waiting on the first word.

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 Terra (Max) and GPT-6 Sol (Max) pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.

GPT-5.6 Terra Max vs GPT-6 Sol Max: benchmark scores compared

Pick it for GPT-5.6 Terra · Max

Pick it for GPT-6 Sol · Max

By the numbers