Pick Grok 4 for 256k context with native tool use or real-time data via x integration. Pick MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai or ranked in the top 15 on lm arena at launch. On a tight budget at scale, MAI-1-preview is the value pick.
Grok 4 (xAI) and MAI-1-preview (Microsoft) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Grok 4 is xAI's 2M-context model with live data access and strong reasoning chops. MAI-1-preview is microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences
Context window: Grok 4 holds 2× more — 256K (~384 pages) vs 128K (~192 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
Recency: MAI-1-preview is the newer model by about 50 days (released August 28, 2025), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
Grok 4
MAI-1-preview
Provider
xAI (US)
Microsoft (US)
Released
July 9, 2025
August 28, 2025
Context window
256K (~384 pages)
128K (~192 pages)
Price (in/out)
$3/$15 per 1M tokens
Not published
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
256K context with native tool use: Grok 4 — Its 256K window holds about 2× more than MAI-1-preview's 128K in a single prompt.
Real-time data via X integration: Grok 4 — XAI's 2M-context model with live data access and strong reasoning chops — and it carries the larger 256K context.
Strong academic reasoning: Grok 4 — MAI-1-preview is comparatively weak here — distinct from Microsoft's later MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning model - an earlier, more general-purpose entry
Microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI: MAI-1-preview — Grok 4 is comparatively weak here — smaller ecosystem than OpenAI/Google
Ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch: MAI-1-preview — Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs — and it is the newer of the two.
Trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment: MAI-1-preview — MAI-1-preview lists trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment among its strengths; Grok 4 does not.
Lowest cost at scale: MAI-1-preview — Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of Grok 4's $3/$15 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input: Grok 4 — Its 256K window is about 2× larger than MAI-1-preview's 128K, fitting roughly 384 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: MAI-1-preview — At Not published it undercuts Grok 4, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases: Grok 4 — Larger 256K window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is 256k context with native tool use: Grok 4 — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai: MAI-1-preview — That is its strongest area.
Grok 4: where it fits
XAI's 2M-context model with live data access and strong reasoning chops. Released July 9, 2025 by xAI, it is built for 256K context with native tool use, real-time data via X integration, strong academic reasoning, and no long-context surcharge.
Its trade-offs are real: smaller ecosystem than OpenAI/Google, and less independent benchmark coverage. At $3 in / $15 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
MAI-1-preview: where it fits
Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. Released August 28, 2025 by Microsoft, it is built for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI, ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch, trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment, and rolled into Copilot alongside OpenAI models, giving Microsoft a real second option.
Its trade-offs: a 'preview' release, not yet positioned as Microsoft's primary Copilot model, no public per-token API pricing - not sold as a standalone product, and distinct from Microsoft's later MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning model - an earlier, more general-purpose entry.
The bottom line for this matchup
Grok 4 and MAI-1-preview overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MAI-1-preview costs less per token; Grok 4 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Grok 4 for 256k context with native tool use, MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Grok 4 or MAI-1-preview 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, Grok 4 leans toward 256k context with native tool use while MAI-1-preview leans toward microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Grok 4 or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview is cheaper — $3/$15 per 1M tokens vs Not published.
Which has the bigger context window?
Grok 4 — 256K vs 128K, about 2× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Grok 4 and MAI-1-preview together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Grok 4, MAI-1-preview 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, Grok 4 or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview — released August 28, 2025, about 50 days after Grok 4.
Grok 4 vs MAI-1-preview
xAI · US | Microsoft · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Grok 4 for 256k context with native tool use or real-time data via x integration. Pick MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai or ranked in the top 15 on lm arena at launch. On a tight budget at scale, MAI-1-preview is the value pick.
Grok 4 (xAI) and MAI-1-preview (Microsoft) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Grok 4 is xAI's 2M-context model with live data access and strong reasoning chops. MAI-1-preview is microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
▸Context window: Grok 4 holds 2× more — 256K (~384 pages) vs 128K (~192 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
▸Recency: MAI-1-preview is the newer model by about 50 days (released August 28, 2025), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
Grok 4
MAI-1-preview
Provider
xAI (US)
Microsoft (US)
Released
July 9, 2025
August 28, 2025
Context window
256K (~384 pages)
128K (~192 pages)
Price (in/out)
$3/$15 per 1M tokens
Not published
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
256K context with native tool use
Grok 4
Its 256K window holds about 2× more than MAI-1-preview's 128K in a single prompt.
Real-time data via X integration
Grok 4
XAI's 2M-context model with live data access and strong reasoning chops — and it carries the larger 256K context.
Strong academic reasoning
Grok 4
MAI-1-preview is comparatively weak here — distinct from Microsoft's later MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning model - an earlier, more general-purpose entry
Microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI
MAI-1-preview
Grok 4 is comparatively weak here — smaller ecosystem than OpenAI/Google
Ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch
MAI-1-preview
Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs — and it is the newer of the two.
Trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment
MAI-1-preview
MAI-1-preview lists trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment among its strengths; Grok 4 does not.
Lowest cost at scale
MAI-1-preview
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of Grok 4's $3/$15 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input
Grok 4
Its 256K window is about 2× larger than MAI-1-preview's 128K, fitting roughly 384 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ MAI-1-preview
At Not published it undercuts Grok 4, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Grok 4
Larger 256K window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is 256k context with native tool use
→ Grok 4
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai
→ MAI-1-preview
That is its strongest area.
Grok 4: where it fits
XAI's 2M-context model with live data access and strong reasoning chops. Released July 9, 2025 by xAI, it is built for 256K context with native tool use, real-time data via X integration, strong academic reasoning, and no long-context surcharge.
Its trade-offs are real: smaller ecosystem than OpenAI/Google, and less independent benchmark coverage. At $3 in / $15 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
MAI-1-preview: where it fits
Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. Released August 28, 2025 by Microsoft, it is built for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI, ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch, trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment, and rolled into Copilot alongside OpenAI models, giving Microsoft a real second option.
Its trade-offs: a 'preview' release, not yet positioned as Microsoft's primary Copilot model, no public per-token API pricing - not sold as a standalone product, and distinct from Microsoft's later MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning model - an earlier, more general-purpose entry.
The bottom line for this matchup
Grok 4 and MAI-1-preview overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MAI-1-preview costs less per token; Grok 4 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Grok 4 for 256k context with native tool use, MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Grok 4 and MAI-1-preview 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.
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, Grok 4 leans toward 256k context with native tool use while MAI-1-preview leans toward microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Grok 4 or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview is cheaper — $3/$15 per 1M tokens vs Not published.
Which has the bigger context window?
Grok 4 — 256K vs 128K, about 2× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Grok 4 and MAI-1-preview together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Grok 4, MAI-1-preview 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, Grok 4 or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview — released August 28, 2025, about 50 days after Grok 4.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.