Instruction following
Like-for-like- Inkling-Small
- 89.6
- #25/123
- MAI-Thinking-1
- 94.7
- #1/123
- Basis
- Provisional lane · 1 vs 1 weighted rows
- Reading
- MAI-Thinking-1 leads
Inkling-Small vs MAI-Thinking-1
Updated September 10, 2026. Public scores include evidence status and uncertainty. They are not guarantees for a specific workload.
Decision reading
Inkling-Small has the higher public score estimate, 59.25 versus 52, but the 90% score intervals overlap. Treat that as a lead, not a settled winner.
9 results are shared. Category rows resting on Estimated evidence or different benchmark sets are marked directional and do not name a winner.
Share or export
Which one for your work
Recommendations appear only when a shared evidence basis or an explicit operating constraint supports the call. Secondary and unsupported use cases stay disclosed below the initial list.
Long documents
Prompts that approach the documented context limit
Inkling-Small
Inkling-Small has the larger documented context window.
Confidence: documented
Show secondary and unsupported calls
Coding work
Code generation, repair, and software-engineering tasks
Not enough matched evidence
MAI-Thinking-1 is scored on Estimated evidence for coding, so the reading is directional rather than like-for-like.
Confidence: limited
Agentic work
Tool use, computer use, and multi-step task completion
Not enough matched evidence
MAI-Thinking-1 is scored on Estimated evidence for agentic, so the reading is directional rather than like-for-like.
Confidence: limited
Chat turn cost
1K fresh input + 500 output tokens
Not enough matched evidence
A complete comparable API-rate estimate is not available for both models.
Confidence: listed-rates
Cache-heavy agent loop cost
200K cached + 20K fresh input + 10K output tokens
Not enough matched evidence
A complete comparable API-rate estimate is not available for both models.
Confidence: listed-rates
Repository review cost
50K fresh input + 3K output tokens
Not enough matched evidence
A complete comparable API-rate estimate is not available for both models.
Confidence: listed-rates
What is actually comparable
Shared results can support a head-to-head reading. Results present for only one model describe coverage, not superiority.
16 Inkling-Small only
9 Shared
5 MAI-Thinking-1 only
- Shared results
- 9
- Inkling-Small only
- 16
- MAI-Thinking-1 only
- 5
- Like-for-like categories
- 1 / 8
3 categories rest on Estimated evidence or different evidence sets. Those rows remain visible for coverage context but do not name a winner.
Category results, on a stated basis
Each row shows the public-lane category score for both models: the BenchAlign lane for agentic, coding, and knowledge, and the weighted public rows elsewhere, with the same rank each model page reports. A row is like-for-like only when both scores rest on Supported evidence or the same weighted set. Directional and not-comparable rows remain visible, but they never receive a winner.
Agentic
Directional only- Inkling-Small
- 36.9
- Supported · #128/152
- MAI-Thinking-1
- 50.3
- Estimated · #50/152
- Basis
- BenchAlign lane · 5 vs 1 public rows
- Reading
- Directional only
Coding
Directional only- Inkling-Small
- 43.8
- Supported · #97/151
- MAI-Thinking-1
- 50.4
- Estimated · #57/151
- Basis
- BenchAlign lane · 6 vs 4 public rows
- Reading
- Directional only
Knowledge
Directional only- Inkling-Small
- 56.5
- Supported · #46/183
- MAI-Thinking-1
- 52.3
- Estimated · #66/183
- Basis
- BenchAlign lane · 6 vs 4 public rows
- Reading
- Directional only
Reasoning
Not comparable- Inkling-Small
- 42.7
- Unranked · 3 rankable rows
- MAI-Thinking-1
- Not ranked
- Basis
- Provisional lane · 1 vs 0 weighted rows
- Reading
- Not comparable
Math
Not comparable- Inkling-Small
- 76.9
- Unranked · 2 rankable rows
- MAI-Thinking-1
- 73.4
- Unranked · 3 rankable rows
- Basis
- Provisional lane · 2 vs 2 weighted rows
- Reading
- Not comparable
Multilingual
Not comparable- Inkling-Small
- Not ranked
- MAI-Thinking-1
- Not ranked
- Basis
- Provisional lane · 0 vs 0 weighted rows
- Reading
- Not comparable
Multimodal
Not comparable- Inkling-Small
- 48.8
- #39/48
- MAI-Thinking-1
- Not ranked
- Basis
- Provisional lane · 2 vs 0 weighted rows
- Reading
- Not comparable
| Category | Inkling-Small | MAI-Thinking-1 | Basis | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instruction following | 89.6#25/123 | 94.7#1/123 | Like-for-likeProvisional lane · 1 vs 1 weighted rows | MAI-Thinking-1 leads |
| Agentic | 36.9Supported · #128/152 | 50.3Estimated · #50/152 | Directional onlyBenchAlign lane · 5 vs 1 public rows | Directional only |
| Coding | 43.8Supported · #97/151 | 50.4Estimated · #57/151 | Directional onlyBenchAlign lane · 6 vs 4 public rows | Directional only |
| Knowledge | 56.5Supported · #46/183 | 52.3Estimated · #66/183 | Directional onlyBenchAlign lane · 6 vs 4 public rows | Directional only |
| Reasoning | 42.7Unranked · 3 rankable rows | Not ranked | Not comparableProvisional lane · 1 vs 0 weighted rows | Not comparable |
| Math | 76.9Unranked · 2 rankable rows | 73.4Unranked · 3 rankable rows | Not comparableProvisional lane · 2 vs 2 weighted rows | Not comparable |
| Multilingual | Not ranked | Not ranked | Not comparableProvisional lane · 0 vs 0 weighted rows | Not comparable |
| Multimodal | 48.8#39/48 | Not ranked | Not comparableProvisional lane · 2 vs 0 weighted rows | Not comparable |
Ranks count the models scored in each category’s lane, so the agentic, coding, and knowledge denominators (BenchAlign) differ from the provisional-lane categories. Unranked scores sit on the lane’s scale but never name a winner. Like-for-like rows within 0.5 points read as a practical tie.
Shape of the matched evidence
Only shared public evidence is shown. Sparse evidence stays a ruled list rather than being closed into a radar shape.
Too few matched category axes support a radar. The ruled list below shows only shared benchmark results; positions use each benchmark’s normalized display scale when available.
Terminal-Bench 2.0
Agentic
Inkling-Small: 64.7%MAI-Thinking-1: 46%Normalized gap 18.7Inkling-Small source MAI-Thinking-1 sourceSWE-bench Verified
Coding
Inkling-Small: 80.2%MAI-Thinking-1: 73.5%Normalized gap 6.7Inkling-Small source MAI-Thinking-1 sourceGPQA
Knowledge
Inkling-Small: 89.5%MAI-Thinking-1: 84.2%Normalized gap 5.3Inkling-Small source MAI-Thinking-1 sourceHMMT Feb 2026
Math
Inkling-Small: 90.2%MAI-Thinking-1: 84.9%Normalized gap 5.3Inkling-Small source MAI-Thinking-1 sourceSWE-bench Pro
Coding
Inkling-Small: 55.9%MAI-Thinking-1: 52.8%Normalized gap 3.1Inkling-Small source MAI-Thinking-1 source
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes turn per-token rates into comparable decisions. Each scenario states context fit and whether cached input had to fall back to the published list-input rate.
Chat turn
1K fresh input + 500 output tokens
- Inkling-Small
- $0.0013
- Fits in one request
- MAI-Thinking-1
- API rate not published
- Fits in one request
MAI-Thinking-1 has no comparable published API token rate.
Repository review
50K fresh input + 3K output tokens
- Inkling-Small
- $0.03332
- Fits in one request
- MAI-Thinking-1
- API rate not published
- Fits in one request
MAI-Thinking-1 has no comparable published API token rate.
Cache-heavy agent loop
200K cached + 20K fresh input + 10K output tokens
- Inkling-Small
- $0.0492
- Fits in one request
- MAI-Thinking-1
- API rate not published
- Fits in one request
- Cached-input rate unavailable
MAI-Thinking-1 has no comparable published API token rate.
Specification differences
Sourced differences are shown directly. Missing facts stay explicit instead of being inferred from a model name or family.
SpecificationInkling-SmallMAI-Thinking-1
Context window
Maximum documented context; output-token limits may be lower.
Inkling-Small
1M
MAI-Thinking-1
256K
API model ID
Inkling-Small
Not sourced
MAI-Thinking-1
Not sourced
Cached-input rate
A missing cached-input rate falls back to the listed input rate only in the stated workload estimate.
Inkling-Small
$0.116 per 1M cached input tokens
MAI-Thinking-1
No comparable hosted API rate
Documented inputs
Inkling-Small
Not sourced
MAI-Thinking-1
Not sourced
Documented outputs
Inkling-Small
Not sourced
MAI-Thinking-1
Not sourced
Provider availability
Inkling-Small
Not sourced
MAI-Thinking-1
Not sourced
Reasoning profile
Inkling-Small
Hybrid
MAI-Thinking-1
Reasoning
Weight access
Inkling-Small
Open Weight
MAI-Thinking-1
Proprietary
License
Inkling-Small
Open Weight
MAI-Thinking-1
Proprietary
Release date
Inkling-Small
2026-07-30
MAI-Thinking-1
2026-06-02
If you already use one of these models
- Deployment change
- The models list different providers, so authentication, endpoint behavior, limits, and feature support may change.
- Quality signal
- Inkling-Small has the higher public score estimate, 59.25 versus 52, but the 90% score intervals overlap.
- Workload cost
- A complete comparable API-rate estimate is not available for both models.
- Context tradeoff
- Inkling-Small has the larger documented window (1M).
Run the same representative tasks against both endpoints before changing production traffic.
Benchmark evidence
The full public result ledger is available for audit without forcing a wide desktop table onto a phone.
Browse raw public benchmark evidence30 rows
Agentic
Terminal-Bench 2.0
Inkling-Small64.7%SourceMAI-Thinking-146%SourceInkling-Small leads this result
BrowseComp
Inkling-Small77.4%SourceMAI-Thinking-1—Not directly comparable
MCP Atlas
Inkling-Small79.6%SourceMAI-Thinking-1—Not directly comparable
Toolathlon-Verified
Inkling-Small54.4%SourceMAI-Thinking-1—Not directly comparable
Terminal-Bench 2.1 (Vals)
Inkling-Small55.1%SourceMAI-Thinking-1—Not directly comparable
Coding
SWE-bench Verified
Inkling-Small80.2%SourceMAI-Thinking-173.5%SourceInkling-Small leads this result
SWE-bench Pro
Inkling-Small55.9%SourceMAI-Thinking-152.8%SourceInkling-Small leads this result
Terminal-Bench 2.0
Inkling-Small64.7%SourceMAI-Thinking-146.0%SourceInkling-Small leads this result
SciCode
Inkling-Small48.7%SourceMAI-Thinking-1—Not directly comparable
LiveCodeBench (Vals)
Inkling-Small85.9%SourceMAI-Thinking-1—Not directly comparable
SWE-bench (Vals)
Inkling-Small82.2%SourceMAI-Thinking-1—Not directly comparable
LiveCodeBench v6
Inkling-Small—MAI-Thinking-187.7%SourceNot directly comparable
Reasoning
Knowledge
GPQA
Inkling-Small89.5%SourceMAI-Thinking-184.2%SourceInkling-Small leads this result
GPQA-D
Inkling-Small89.5%SourceMAI-Thinking-184.2%SourceInkling-Small leads this result
HLE
Inkling-Small47.8%SourceMAI-Thinking-1—Not directly comparable
HLE w/o tools
Inkling-Small31.6%SourceMAI-Thinking-1—Not directly comparable
GPQA Diamond (Vals)
Inkling-Small83.6%SourceMAI-Thinking-1—Not directly comparable
MMLU-Pro (Vals)
Inkling-Small85.6%SourceMAI-Thinking-1—Not directly comparable
MMLU-Pro
Inkling-Small—MAI-Thinking-185%SourceNot directly comparable
SimpleQA
Inkling-Small—MAI-Thinking-131%SourceNot directly comparable
Math
Multimodal
Instruction following
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Inkling-Small or MAI-Thinking-1?
Inkling-Small has the higher public score estimate, 59.25 versus 52, but the 90% score intervals overlap. The higher estimate is not a decisive winner because the uncertainty ranges overlap.
Which is better for coding, Inkling-Small or MAI-Thinking-1?
MAI-Thinking-1 scores higher for coding on the public lane, 50.4 to 43.8. MAI-Thinking-1 is scored on Estimated evidence for coding, so the reading is directional rather than like-for-like. BenchLM does not name a winner for coding from a directional reading; read the shared benchmark rows directly and test the models on the same task set.
Which is better for agentic tasks, Inkling-Small or MAI-Thinking-1?
MAI-Thinking-1 scores higher for agentic tasks on the public lane, 50.3 to 36.9. MAI-Thinking-1 is scored on Estimated evidence for agentic tasks, so the reading is directional rather than like-for-like. BenchLM does not name a winner for agentic tasks from a directional reading; read the shared benchmark rows directly and test the models on the same task set.
Which costs less, Inkling-Small or MAI-Thinking-1?
Both models do not have comparable published API token rates, so this page does not name a universal price winner.
Which has the larger context window, Inkling-Small or MAI-Thinking-1?
Inkling-Small has the larger documented context window: 1M, compared with 256K.
Related comparisons
Last updated September 10, 2026
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