GPT-5.6 Terra Max vs Inkling 2 Small compared

GPT-5.6 Terra Max leads the intelligence index 32.3 to 30.6. Price per token, response speed and when to pick each.

Metric	GPT-5.6 Terra (Max)	Inkling 2 Small
Intelligence Index	32.3	30.6
Input price (per 1M tokens)	$2.00	$0.30
Output price (per 1M tokens)	$12.00	$1.00
Output speed (tokens/s)	116	139
Time to first token	3.4 min	2.2s
Release date	2026-07-09	2026-11-05

Metric

GPT-5.6 Terra (Max)

Inkling 2 Small

Intelligence Index

32.3

30.6

Input price (per 1M tokens)

$2.00

$0.30

Output price (per 1M tokens)

$12.00

$1.00

Output speed (tokens/s)

116

139

Time to first token

3.4 min

2.2s

Release date

2026-07-09

2026-11-05

There is very little daylight between GPT-5.6 Terra (Max) (OpenAI) and Inkling 2 Small (Thinking Machines) on the overall index. The sharpest difference is price: Inkling 2 Small costs $1.00 per million output tokens, against $12.00 for GPT-5.6 Terra Max. All numbers are the catalogue's recorded values; nobody ran either model by hand for this page.

What they cost

The list prices are $2.00 in and $12.00 out for GPT-5.6 Terra Max, and $0.30 in and $1.00 out for Inkling 2 Small, per million tokens. GPT-5.6 Terra Max costs 12 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 $0.50 on Inkling 2 Small. Scale it up to summarising 1,000 documents of 8,000 tokens into 400-token summaries and the bill is $20.80 for GPT-5.6 Terra Max against $2.80 for Inkling 2 Small. On a 3:1 blend of input to output tokens, that works out to $4.50 versus $0.475 per million.

Inkling 2 Small is the faster writer

Measured output speed is 116 tokens per second for GPT-5.6 Terra Max and 139 tokens per second for Inkling 2 Small. That makes Inkling 2 Small roughly 1.2 times as fast at writing. Before any text appears, GPT-5.6 Terra Max takes 3.4 minutes and Inkling 2 Small 2.2 seconds. GPT-5.6 Terra Max waits 92 times as long before its first token. Waits that long are felt on every chat-style request, though they matter less for batch jobs.

Put together, a 1,500-token answer would take about 3.6 minutes from GPT-5.6 Terra Max and 13 seconds from Inkling 2 Small, counting the first-token wait.

When they came out

Inkling 2 Small arrived on November 5, 2026, about 4 months after GPT-5.6 Terra Max (July 9, 2026).

GPT-5.6 Terra Max leads on the intelligence index

GPT-5.6 Terra Max records 32.3 on the intelligence index and Inkling 2 Small records 30.6. That is a modest edge: real, but small enough that the right set of tasks could reverse it.

For context, that places GPT-5.6 Terra Max 46th and Inkling 2 Small 52nd out of 109 scored models still on offer.

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

Is the price in proportion?

Per point of intelligence index, GPT-5.6 Terra Max costs $0.14 of blended price per million tokens and Inkling 2 Small $0.016. Inkling 2 Small delivers each index point for 89% less; whether GPT-5.6 Terra Max's extra 1.7 points are worth the premium depends on how often your tasks need them.

Common questions about GPT-5.6 Terra Max and Inkling 2 Small

Is GPT-5.6 Terra Max better than Inkling 2 Small?

It depends on what you need: GPT-5.6 Terra Max scores higher on the intelligence index, 32.3 to 30.6; Inkling 2 Small is 89% cheaper on blended price; and Inkling 2 Small streams output 1.2 times as fast.

Are GPT-5.6 Terra Max and Inkling 2 Small from the same company?

GPT-5.6 Terra Max is made by OpenAI and Inkling 2 Small by Thinking Machines. GPT-5.6 Terra Max was released on July 9, 2026 and Inkling 2 Small on November 5, 2026.

Which is faster, GPT-5.6 Terra Max or Inkling 2 Small?

Inkling 2 Small generates output faster, at 139 tokens per second against 116 tokens per second. Inkling 2 Small reaches its first token sooner (2.2 seconds against 3.4 minutes).

Is Inkling 2 Small cheaper than GPT-5.6 Terra Max?

Inkling 2 Small 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; Inkling 2 Small lists $0.30 and $1.00. For 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens that is $4.40 against $0.50.

When were GPT-5.6 Terra Max and Inkling 2 Small released?

Inkling 2 Small is newer. It was released on November 5, 2026, about 4 months after GPT-5.6 Terra Max (July 9, 2026).

Final whistle

Short answer: Inkling 2 Small has more going for it here, but GPT-5.6 Terra Max is not without an argument. Pick Inkling 2 Small if cost matters ($1.00 against $12.00 per million output tokens) and users are waiting on the first word. Pick GPT-5.6 Terra Max if you need the higher overall score (32.3 against 30.6).

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 Inkling 2 Small pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.