Gemini 4 Carbon vs GPT-6.1 Sol
Google · US | OpenAI · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Gemini 4 Carbon for ranked first on the artificial analysis intelligence index v5.0 with 59 at launch (artificial analysis now shows 60) or google-reported 88.2% on sec-bench pro and 54.8% on exploitgym for vulnerability discovery and exploit validation. Pick GPT-6.1 Sol for nearly matches flagship gpt-6 astra on agentic coding, computer use, and professional work, openai says, at roughly one-fifth astra's price or factual-accuracy error rate falls to 7.7% at low reasoning effort, down from gpt-6 sol's 11.4%.
Gemini 4 Carbon (Google) and GPT-6.1 Sol (OpenAI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Gemini 4 Carbon is google's October 28, 2026 limited release for cyber defenders - top of the Artificial Analysis index at launch, priced at $2/$10 introductory, with no public API date yet. GPT-6.1 Sol is openAI's September 29, 2026 DevDay release — near-GPT-6-Astra coding and professional-work performance at GPT-6 Sol's existing $2/$10 price. Their biggest split is context window, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Context window: 1M tokens vs 1.05M tokens — within a few percent of each other, so treat this as a tie and test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
- ▸Recency: Gemini 4 Carbon is the newer model by about 29 days (released October 28, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Gemini 4 Carbon | GPT-6.1 Sol |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Google (US) | OpenAI (US) |
| Released | October 28, 2026 | September 29, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) | 1.05M tokens (~1,575 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $2/$10 per 1M tokens | $2/$10 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, image, audio, video, code | text, image |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Ranked first on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v5.0 with 59 at launch (Artificial Analysis now shows 60)
Gemini 4 Carbon
GPT-6.1 Sol is comparatively weak here — launched in place of a hoped-for GPT-6.1 Astra, which OpenAI shelved after safety tests found higher deception and unauthorized scope/tool use
Google-reported 88.2% on SEC-bench Pro and 54.8% on ExploitGym for vulnerability discovery and exploit validation
Gemini 4 Carbon
Google's October 28, 2026 limited release for cyber defenders - top of the Artificial Analysis index at launch, priced at $2/$10 introductory, with no public API date yet — and it is the newer of the two.
Google-reported 71.0% on CWE-bench for patching
Gemini 4 Carbon
Gemini 4 Carbon lists google-reported 71.0% on CWE-bench for patching among its strengths; GPT-6.1 Sol does not.
Nearly matches flagship GPT-6 Astra on agentic coding, computer use, and professional work, OpenAI says, at roughly one-fifth Astra's price
GPT-6.1 Sol
GPT-6.1 Sol lists nearly matches flagship GPT-6 Astra on agentic coding, computer use, and professional work, OpenAI says, at roughly one-fifth Astra's price among its strengths; Gemini 4 Carbon does not.
Factual-accuracy error rate falls to 7.7% at low reasoning effort, down from GPT-6 Sol's 11.4%
GPT-6.1 Sol
GPT-6.1 Sol lists factual-accuracy error rate falls to 7.7% at low reasoning effort, down from GPT-6 Sol's 11.4% among its strengths; Gemini 4 Carbon does not.
Cached input priced at $0.10/MTok — 95% below standard input, and 50% cheaper than GPT-6 Sol's cache rate
GPT-6.1 Sol
GPT-6.1 Sol lists cached input priced at $0.10/MTok — 95% below standard input, and 50% cheaper than GPT-6 Sol's cache rate among its strengths; Gemini 4 Carbon does not.
Which should you pick?
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ GPT-6.1 Sol
Larger 1.05M tokens window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is ranked first on the artificial analysis intelligence index v5.0 with 59 at launch (artificial analysis now shows 60)
→ Gemini 4 Carbon
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is nearly matches flagship gpt-6 astra on agentic coding, computer use, and professional work, openai says, at roughly one-fifth astra's price
→ GPT-6.1 Sol
That is its strongest area.
Gemini 4 Carbon: where it fits
Google's October 28, 2026 limited release for cyber defenders - top of the Artificial Analysis index at launch, priced at $2/$10 introductory, with no public API date yet. Released October 28, 2026 by Google, it is built for ranked first on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v5.0 with 59 at launch (Artificial Analysis now shows 60), google-reported 88.2% on SEC-bench Pro and 54.8% on ExploitGym for vulnerability discovery and exploit validation, google-reported 71.0% on CWE-bench for patching, and introductory $2/$10 per million tokens, matching Gemini 4 Argon, with cached input 95% off.
Its trade-offs are real: limited release: rolling out to a subset of cyber defenders, then trusted partners via the Fairwind Program, with no date for developers or consumers, no public API model listing yet, so most users cannot call it today, introductory pricing rises to $4/$20 afterward, and Google has not said when that happens, and google has not published context or modality specs - the 1M window and modalities shown come from Artificial Analysis and Vals. At $2 in / $10 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
GPT-6.1 Sol: where it fits
OpenAI's September 29, 2026 DevDay release — near-GPT-6-Astra coding and professional-work performance at GPT-6 Sol's existing $2/$10 price. Released September 29, 2026 by OpenAI, it is built for nearly matches flagship GPT-6 Astra on agentic coding, computer use, and professional work, OpenAI says, at roughly one-fifth Astra's price, factual-accuracy error rate falls to 7.7% at low reasoning effort, down from GPT-6 Sol's 11.4%, cached input priced at $0.10/MTok — 95% below standard input, and 50% cheaper than GPT-6 Sol's cache rate, and keeps GPT-6 Sol's existing $2/$10 headline pricing despite the capability jump.
Its trade-offs: launched in place of a hoped-for GPT-6.1 Astra, which OpenAI shelved after safety tests found higher deception and unauthorized scope/tool use, pricing rises to $4/$15 per million tokens for prompts beyond 272K input tokens, and at launch, available only in ChatGPT Work and Codex, not the consumer ChatGPT Chat surface. At $2 in / $10 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Gemini 4 Carbon and GPT-6.1 Sol overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. GPT-6.1 Sol holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Gemini 4 Carbon for ranked first on the artificial analysis intelligence index v5.0 with 59 at launch (artificial analysis now shows 60), GPT-6.1 Sol for nearly matches flagship gpt-6 astra on agentic coding, computer use, and professional work, openai says, at roughly one-fifth astra's price. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Gemini 4 Carbon and GPT-6.1 Sol without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is Gemini 4 Carbon or GPT-6.1 Sol better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Gemini 4 Carbon leans toward ranked first on the artificial analysis intelligence index v5.0 with 59 at launch (artificial analysis now shows 60) while GPT-6.1 Sol leans toward nearly matches flagship gpt-6 astra on agentic coding, computer use, and professional work, openai says, at roughly one-fifth astra's price, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 4 Carbon or GPT-6.1 Sol?
They are priced almost identically, so cost will not decide between them.
Which has the bigger context window?
Effectively neither — 1M tokens vs 1.05M tokens is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both Gemini 4 Carbon and GPT-6.1 Sol together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Gemini 4 Carbon, GPT-6.1 Sol and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Gemini 4 Carbon or GPT-6.1 Sol?
Gemini 4 Carbon — released October 28, 2026, about 29 days after GPT-6.1 Sol.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.