Model comparison
Inkling vs ZAYA1-8B
Head-to-head evidence from 4 shared benchmark results across 3 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Verified leaderboard positions: Inkling #17; ZAYA1-8B unranked
Evidence parity. Inkling and ZAYA1-8B share 4 comparable benchmark results. 3 of 8 categories are comparable. 12 results are unique to Inkling; 7 to ZAYA1-8B.
Updated July 15, 2026- Shared results
- 4
- Inkling only
- 12
- ZAYA1-8B only
- 7
- Comparable categories
- 3 / 8
Pick Inkling if you want the stronger benchmark profile. ZAYA1-8B only becomes the better choice if knowledge 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; 3 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 55. 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 mathematics, where it averages 97.1 against 80.4. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is IFBench, 79.8% to 52.6%. ZAYA1-8B does hit back in knowledge, 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 $0.00 input / $0.00 output per 1M tokens for ZAYA1-8B. That is roughly Infinityx on output cost alone. ZAYA1-8B 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. Inkling gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 131K for ZAYA1-8B.
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 | Inkling | Δ | ZAYA1-8B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Inkling51.7 | Margin→ 21.9 | ZAYA1-8B73.6 |
| Math | Inkling97.1 | Margin← 16.7 | ZAYA1-8B80.4 |
| Inst. Following | Inkling79.8 | Margin← 15.7 | ZAYA1-8B64.1 |
| Agentic | Inkling69.4 | MarginNo overlap | ZAYA1-8BNot measured |
| Coding | Inkling68.6 | MarginNo overlap | ZAYA1-8BNot measured |
| Multimodal | Inkling76.5 | MarginNo overlap | ZAYA1-8BNot measured |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
IFBench
Inst. FollowingA 79.8%B 52.6%Winner: InklingΔ 27.2IFBench: Inkling scored 79.8%; ZAYA1-8B scored 52.6%. Inkling wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
GPQA
KnowledgeA 87.9%B 71%Winner: InklingΔ 16.9GPQA: Inkling scored 87.9%; ZAYA1-8B scored 71%. Inkling wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
AIME26
MathA 97.1%B 89.1%Winner: InklingΔ 8AIME26: Inkling scored 97.1%; ZAYA1-8B scored 89.1%. Inkling wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Inkling | ZAYA1-8B | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Inkling$1.87 input / $4.68 output | ZAYA1-8B$0 input / $0 output | ZAYA1-8B has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | InklingNot available | ZAYA1-8BNot available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | InklingNot available | ZAYA1-8BNot available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Inkling1M | ZAYA1-8B131K | Inkling lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic5 benchmarks
Coding4 benchmarks
KnowledgeZAYA1-8B wins5 benchmarks
MathInkling wins4 benchmarks
Multimodal3 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (4)
Which is better, Inkling or ZAYA1-8B?
Inkling is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 69 to 55. The biggest single separator in this matchup is IFBench, where the scores are 79.8% and 52.6%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Inkling or ZAYA1-8B?
ZAYA1-8B has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 73.6 versus 51.7. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for math, Inkling or ZAYA1-8B?
Inkling has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 97.1 versus 80.4. Inside this category, AIME26 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for instruction following, Inkling or ZAYA1-8B?
Inkling has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 79.8 versus 64.1. Inside this category, IFBench is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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