GPT-6.1 Sol vs MAI-Thinking-1
OpenAI · US | Microsoft · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
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%. Pick MAI-Thinking-1 for very strong math reasoning (aime 2025 97%, aime 2026 94.5%) or microsoft's first in-house flagship reasoner, trained without openai distillation. On a tight budget at scale, MAI-Thinking-1 is the value pick.
GPT-6.1 Sol (OpenAI) and MAI-Thinking-1 (Microsoft) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. 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. MAI-Thinking-1 is microsoft's first fully in-house flagship reasoning model — a Claude-class reasoner built independently to cut its OpenAI dependence. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Context window: GPT-6.1 Sol holds 4.1× more — 1.05M tokens (~1,575 pages) vs 256K (~384 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
- ▸Recency: GPT-6.1 Sol is the newer model by about 48 days (released September 29, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | GPT-6.1 Sol | MAI-Thinking-1 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI (US) | Microsoft (US) |
| Released | September 29, 2026 | August 12, 2026 |
| Context window | 1.05M tokens (~1,575 pages) | 256K (~384 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $2/$10 per 1M tokens | Not published |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, image | text, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
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
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 — and it carries the larger 1.05M tokens context.
Factual-accuracy error rate falls to 7.7% at low reasoning effort, down from GPT-6 Sol's 11.4%
GPT-6.1 Sol
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 — and it is the newer of the two.
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; MAI-Thinking-1 does not.
Very strong math reasoning (AIME 2025 97%, AIME 2026 94.5%)
MAI-Thinking-1
MAI-Thinking-1 lists very strong math reasoning (AIME 2025 97%, AIME 2026 94.5%) among its strengths; GPT-6.1 Sol does not.
Microsoft's first in-house flagship reasoner, trained without OpenAI distillation
MAI-Thinking-1
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
Efficient reasoning at low token cost for its class
MAI-Thinking-1
GPT-6.1 Sol is comparatively weak here — pricing rises to $4/$15 per million tokens for prompts beyond 272K input tokens
Lowest cost at scale
MAI-Thinking-1
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of GPT-6.1 Sol's $2/$10 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input
GPT-6.1 Sol
Its 1.05M tokens window is about 4.1× larger than MAI-Thinking-1's 256K, fitting roughly 1,575 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ MAI-Thinking-1
At Not published it undercuts GPT-6.1 Sol, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
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 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
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is very strong math reasoning (aime 2025 97%, aime 2026 94.5%)
→ MAI-Thinking-1
That is its strongest area.
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 are real: 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.
MAI-Thinking-1: where it fits
Microsoft's first fully in-house flagship reasoning model — a Claude-class reasoner built independently to cut its OpenAI dependence. Released August 12, 2026 by Microsoft, it is built for very strong math reasoning (AIME 2025 97%, AIME 2026 94.5%), microsoft's first in-house flagship reasoner, trained without OpenAI distillation, efficient reasoning at low token cost for its class, and competitive with Claude Opus 4.6 on SWE-Bench Pro (vendor-reported).
Its trade-offs: closed and in private preview — no open weights, no published pricing, thin availability, and benchmarks are largely self-reported.
The bottom line for this matchup
GPT-6.1 Sol and MAI-Thinking-1 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MAI-Thinking-1 costs less per token; GPT-6.1 Sol holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — 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, MAI-Thinking-1 for very strong math reasoning (aime 2025 97%, aime 2026 94.5%). Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both GPT-6.1 Sol and MAI-Thinking-1 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 GPT-6.1 Sol or MAI-Thinking-1 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, 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 while MAI-Thinking-1 leans toward very strong math reasoning (aime 2025 97%, aime 2026 94.5%), and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GPT-6.1 Sol or MAI-Thinking-1?
MAI-Thinking-1 is cheaper — $2/$10 per 1M tokens vs Not published.
Which has the bigger context window?
GPT-6.1 Sol — 1.05M tokens vs 256K, about 4.1× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both GPT-6.1 Sol and MAI-Thinking-1 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GPT-6.1 Sol, MAI-Thinking-1 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, GPT-6.1 Sol or MAI-Thinking-1?
GPT-6.1 Sol — released September 29, 2026, about 48 days after MAI-Thinking-1.
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.