Pick Grok Code Fast 1 for fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50 or low-latency code generation and terminal tasks. 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.
Grok Code Fast 1 (xAI) and MAI-Thinking-1 (Microsoft) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Grok Code Fast 1 is xAI's speed-tier coding model at $0.20/$1.50 with a 256K window — cheap, fast agentic code over frontier quality. MAI-Thinking-1 is microsoft's first fully in-house flagship reasoning model — a Claude-class reasoner built independently to cut its OpenAI dependence. Their biggest split is price, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.
Key differences
Context window: both advertise 256K (~384 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
Recency: MAI-Thinking-1 is the newer model by about 9 months (released June 2, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
Grok Code Fast 1
MAI-Thinking-1
Provider
xAI (US)
Microsoft (US)
Released
August 28, 2025
June 2, 2026
Context window
256K (~384 pages)
256K (~384 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.2/$1.5 per 1M tokens
Not published
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50: Grok Code Fast 1 — Grok Code Fast 1 lists fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50 among its strengths; MAI-Thinking-1 does not.
Low-latency code generation and terminal tasks: Grok Code Fast 1 — Grok Code Fast 1 lists low-latency code generation and terminal tasks among its strengths; MAI-Thinking-1 does not.
High-volume coding pipelines where speed beats peak quality: Grok Code Fast 1 — Grok Code Fast 1 lists high-volume coding pipelines where speed beats peak quality among its strengths; MAI-Thinking-1 does not.
Very strong math reasoning (AIME 2025 97%, AIME 2026 94.5%): MAI-Thinking-1 — Microsoft's first fully in-house flagship reasoning model — a Claude-class reasoner built independently to cut its OpenAI dependence — and it is the newer of the two.
Microsoft's first in-house flagship reasoner, trained without OpenAI distillation: MAI-Thinking-1 — Grok Code Fast 1 is comparatively weak here — a speed-tier coding model, not a frontier reasoner
Efficient reasoning at low token cost for its class: MAI-Thinking-1 — MAI-Thinking-1 lists efficient reasoning at low token cost for its class among its strengths; Grok Code Fast 1 does not.
Lowest cost at scale: MAI-Thinking-1 — Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of Grok Code Fast 1's $0.2/$1.5 per 1M tokens.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: MAI-Thinking-1 — At Not published it undercuts Grok Code Fast 1, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Anyone whose priority is fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50: Grok Code Fast 1 — 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.
Grok Code Fast 1: where it fits
XAI's speed-tier coding model at $0.20/$1.50 with a 256K window — cheap, fast agentic code over frontier quality. Released August 28, 2025 by xAI, it is built for fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50, low-latency code generation and terminal tasks, high-volume coding pipelines where speed beats peak quality, and a 256K window sized for real codebases.
Its trade-offs are real: text and code only — no image, audio or video input, xAI did not publish a SWE-Bench Verified score, a speed-tier coding model, not a frontier reasoner, and narrow focus — built for code, not general knowledge work. At $0.2 in / $1.5 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget 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 June 2, 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
Grok Code Fast 1 and MAI-Thinking-1 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MAI-Thinking-1 costs less per token; and each leads in its own area — Grok Code Fast 1 for fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50, 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.
Frequently asked questions
Is Grok Code Fast 1 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, Grok Code Fast 1 leans toward fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50 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, Grok Code Fast 1 or MAI-Thinking-1?
MAI-Thinking-1 is cheaper — $0.2/$1.5 per 1M tokens vs Not published.
Which has the bigger context window?
Both advertise 256K (~384 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both Grok Code Fast 1 and MAI-Thinking-1 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Grok Code Fast 1, 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, Grok Code Fast 1 or MAI-Thinking-1?
MAI-Thinking-1 — released June 2, 2026, about 9 months after Grok Code Fast 1.
Grok Code Fast 1 vs MAI-Thinking-1
xAI · US | Microsoft · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Grok Code Fast 1 for fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50 or low-latency code generation and terminal tasks. 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.
Grok Code Fast 1 (xAI) and MAI-Thinking-1 (Microsoft) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Grok Code Fast 1 is xAI's speed-tier coding model at $0.20/$1.50 with a 256K window — cheap, fast agentic code over frontier quality. MAI-Thinking-1 is microsoft's first fully in-house flagship reasoning model — a Claude-class reasoner built independently to cut its OpenAI dependence. Their biggest split is price, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.
Key differences at a glance
▸Context window: both advertise 256K (~384 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
▸Recency: MAI-Thinking-1 is the newer model by about 9 months (released June 2, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
Grok Code Fast 1
MAI-Thinking-1
Provider
xAI (US)
Microsoft (US)
Released
August 28, 2025
June 2, 2026
Context window
256K (~384 pages)
256K (~384 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.2/$1.5 per 1M tokens
Not published
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50
Grok Code Fast 1
Grok Code Fast 1 lists fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50 among its strengths; MAI-Thinking-1 does not.
Low-latency code generation and terminal tasks
Grok Code Fast 1
Grok Code Fast 1 lists low-latency code generation and terminal tasks among its strengths; MAI-Thinking-1 does not.
High-volume coding pipelines where speed beats peak quality
Grok Code Fast 1
Grok Code Fast 1 lists high-volume coding pipelines where speed beats peak quality among its strengths; MAI-Thinking-1 does not.
Very strong math reasoning (AIME 2025 97%, AIME 2026 94.5%)
MAI-Thinking-1
Microsoft's first fully in-house flagship reasoning model — a Claude-class reasoner built independently to cut its OpenAI dependence — and it is the newer of the two.
Microsoft's first in-house flagship reasoner, trained without OpenAI distillation
MAI-Thinking-1
Grok Code Fast 1 is comparatively weak here — a speed-tier coding model, not a frontier reasoner
Efficient reasoning at low token cost for its class
MAI-Thinking-1
MAI-Thinking-1 lists efficient reasoning at low token cost for its class among its strengths; Grok Code Fast 1 does not.
Lowest cost at scale
MAI-Thinking-1
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of Grok Code Fast 1's $0.2/$1.5 per 1M tokens.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ MAI-Thinking-1
At Not published it undercuts Grok Code Fast 1, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Anyone whose priority is fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50
→ Grok Code Fast 1
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.
Grok Code Fast 1: where it fits
XAI's speed-tier coding model at $0.20/$1.50 with a 256K window — cheap, fast agentic code over frontier quality. Released August 28, 2025 by xAI, it is built for fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50, low-latency code generation and terminal tasks, high-volume coding pipelines where speed beats peak quality, and a 256K window sized for real codebases.
Its trade-offs are real: text and code only — no image, audio or video input, xAI did not publish a SWE-Bench Verified score, a speed-tier coding model, not a frontier reasoner, and narrow focus — built for code, not general knowledge work. At $0.2 in / $1.5 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget 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 June 2, 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
Grok Code Fast 1 and MAI-Thinking-1 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MAI-Thinking-1 costs less per token; and each leads in its own area — Grok Code Fast 1 for fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50, 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 Grok Code Fast 1 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.
Is Grok Code Fast 1 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, Grok Code Fast 1 leans toward fast, cheap agentic coding at $0.20/$1.50 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, Grok Code Fast 1 or MAI-Thinking-1?
MAI-Thinking-1 is cheaper — $0.2/$1.5 per 1M tokens vs Not published.
Which has the bigger context window?
Both advertise 256K (~384 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both Grok Code Fast 1 and MAI-Thinking-1 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Grok Code Fast 1, 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, Grok Code Fast 1 or MAI-Thinking-1?
MAI-Thinking-1 — released June 2, 2026, about 9 months after Grok Code Fast 1.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.