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Model comparison

Grok 4.3 vs Inkling

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 4 shared benchmark results across 3 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

65.07/100
Margin
3.9pts
winning →
Thinking Machines Lab
69/100
2 category wins2 category wins

Verified leaderboard positions: Grok 4.3 unranked; Inkling #17

BenchAlign evidence: Grok 4.3 supported; Inkling not scored. Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. Grok 4.3 and Inkling share 4 comparable benchmark results. 4 of 8 categories are comparable. 26 results are unique to Grok 4.3; 12 to Inkling.

Updated July 15, 2026
Shared results
4
Grok 4.3 only
26
Inkling only
12
Comparable categories
4 / 8

Pick Inkling if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Grok 4.3 only becomes the better choice if multimodal & grounded is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 4 shared benchmark results across 3 evidence categories; 4 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.

Why this result

Inkling is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 69 to 63. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

Inkling's sharpest advantage is in coding, where it averages 68.6 against 47.3. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is HLE, 35% to 46%. Grok 4.3 does hit back in multimodal & grounded, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.

Inkling is also the more expensive model on tokens at $1.87 input / $4.68 output per 1M tokens, versus $1.25 input / $2.50 output per 1M tokens for Grok 4.3. Grok 4.3 is the reasoning model in the pair, while Inkling is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use.

Category breakdown

Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.

Category scores and score margins for Grok 4.3 and Inkling
CategoryGrok 4.3ΔInkling
CodingGrok 4.347.3Margin 21.3Inkling68.6
KnowledgeGrok 4.342.4Margin 9.3Inkling51.7
MultimodalGrok 4.378.1Margin 1.6Inkling76.5
Inst. FollowingGrok 4.381.3Margin 1.5Inkling79.8
AgenticGrok 4.3Not measuredMarginNo overlapInkling69.4
MathGrok 4.3Not measuredMarginNo overlapInkling97.1

Decisive benchmark drivers

The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.

More
A · Grok 4.3B · Inkling
  1. HLE

    Knowledge
    Source ↗
    A 35%B 46%
    Winner: InklingΔ 11
    HLE: Grok 4.3 scored 35%; Inkling scored 46%. Inkling wins this benchmark.
  2. MMMU-Pro

    Multimodal
    Source ↗
    A 78.1%B 73.5%
    Winner: Grok 4.3Δ 4.6
    MMMU-Pro: Grok 4.3 scored 78.1%; Inkling scored 73.5%. Grok 4.3 wins this benchmark.
  3. GPQA

    Knowledge
    Source ↗
    A 90.1%B 87.9%
    Winner: Grok 4.3Δ 2.2
    GPQA: Grok 4.3 scored 90.1%; Inkling scored 87.9%. Grok 4.3 wins this benchmark.
  4. IFBench

    Inst. Following
    Source ↗
    A 81.3%B 79.8%
    Winner: Grok 4.3Δ 1.5
    IFBench: Grok 4.3 scored 81.3%; Inkling scored 79.8%. Grok 4.3 wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.

MetricGrok 4.3InklingComparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensGrok 4.3$1.25 input / $2.5 outputInkling$1.87 input / $4.68 outputGrok 4.3 has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondGrok 4.3209 tok/sInklingNot availableA complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenGrok 4.312.36 sInklingNot availableA complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensGrok 4.31MInkling1MListed context windows are equal.

Benchmark Deep Dive

Agentic
BenchmarkGrok 4.3InklingResult
τ²-bench resultsSource 97.7%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource 29.2%Not comparable
AA Agentic IndexSource 24.1%Not comparable
APEX-Agents-AASource 17.0%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource 1085Not comparable
Gert LabsSource 43.86%Not comparable
ResearchClawBenchSource 12.4%Not comparable
AA BriefcaseSource 752Not comparable
AA EnterpriseOps-GymSource 26.3%Not comparable
AA Harvey LABSource 0.0%Not comparable
AA ITBenchSource 32.7%Not comparable
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 63.8%Not comparable
BrowseCompSource 77.1%Not comparable
MCP AtlasSource 74.1%Not comparable
Design Arena Agentic Web DevSource 1258Not comparable
CodingInkling wins
BenchmarkGrok 4.3InklingResult
SciCodeSource 47.3%Not comparable
Terminal-Bench HardSource 37.9%Not comparable
AA Coding IndexSource 42.3%Not comparable
AA-SciCodeSource 47.3%Not comparable
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 77.6%Not comparable
SWE-bench ProSource 54.3%Not comparable
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 63.8%Not comparable
Reasoning
BenchmarkGrok 4.3InklingResult
AA-LCRSource 64.3%Not comparable
CritPtSource 8.0%Not comparable
KnowledgeInkling wins
BenchmarkGrok 4.3InklingResult
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource 37.6%Not comparable
GPQASource 90.1%87.9%Grok 4.3 leads
HLESource 35%46%Inkling leads
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource 34.6%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource 25.0%Not comparable
AA-GPQA DiamondSource 90.1%Not comparable
AA-HLESource 35.0%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience IndexSource 18.3%Not comparable
GPQA-DSource 87.9%Not comparable
HLE w/o toolsSource 30%Not comparable
Math
BenchmarkGrok 4.3InklingResult
AIME26Source 97.1%Not comparable
MultimodalGrok 4.3 wins
BenchmarkGrok 4.3InklingResult
MMMU-ProSource 78.1%73.5%Grok 4.3 leads
Design Arena WebsiteSource 1232Not comparable
AA-MMMU-ProSource 78.1%Not comparable
CharXivSource 82%Not comparable
CharXiv w/o toolsSource 78.1%Not comparable
Inst. FollowingGrok 4.3 wins
BenchmarkGrok 4.3InklingResult
IFBenchSource 81.3%79.8%Grok 4.3 leads
AA-IFBenchSource 81.3%Not comparable
Frequently Asked Questions (5)

Which is better, Grok 4.3 or Inkling?

Inkling is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 69 to 63. The biggest single separator in this matchup is HLE, where the scores are 35% and 46%.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, Grok 4.3 or Inkling?

Inkling has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 51.7 versus 42.4. Inside this category, HLE is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for coding, Grok 4.3 or Inkling?

Inkling has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 68.6 versus 47.3. Grok 4.3 stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.

Which is better for multimodal and grounded tasks, Grok 4.3 or Inkling?

Grok 4.3 has the edge for multimodal and grounded tasks in this comparison, averaging 78.1 versus 76.5. Inside this category, MMMU-Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for instruction following, Grok 4.3 or Inkling?

Grok 4.3 has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 81.3 versus 79.8. Inside this category, IFBench is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

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Last updated: July 15, 2026

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