GPT-6 Astra vs Gemini 4 Argon
GPT-6 Astra and Gemini 4 Argon are within three points on the Models at Work leaderboard, which we treat as a tie (86 vs 85). Gemini 4 Argon is about 10× cheaper per blended million tokens ($1.99 vs $20, one figure an Artificial Analysis estimate).
| GPT-6 Astra · OpenAI | Gemini 4 Argon · Google | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaderboard rank | #2 | #3 |
| Score (0–100) | 86 | 85 |
| Tier | Frontier | Frontier |
| Price per 1M tokens | $10 in · $50 out | $1.99 blended (estimate) |
| Context window | 1M | 1M |
| Open weights | No | No |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index | 53 | 53 |
| Humanity's Last Exam, Diamond (Scale) | 60.6 | — |
| Humanity's Sixth Sense (Scale) | 53.6 | — |
| FrontierMath Erdős (Epoch) | 3% (2 of 68) | — |
| Arena text score | — | 1525 |
| Best for | Hard reasoning, Research-grade analysis, When cost is not the constraint | Chat and assistant products, Google Cloud shops, Price-sensitive frontier work |
Choose GPT-6 Astra if…
- you need hard reasoning
- you need research-grade analysis
- you need when cost is not the constraint
The reasoning heavyweight: leads the hardest exams and the cipher-cracking party tricks, and charges like it.
Caveats: Long-context pricing doubles above 272K input tokens. Speed is the lowest of the frontier set in Artificial Analysis' measurement.
Choose Gemini 4 Argon if…
- you need chat and assistant products
- you need google cloud shops
- you need price-sensitive frontier work
Wins the popularity contest: first on Arena, mid-pack on the index, and priced like a workhorse.
Caveats: Google's public pricing page did not list Argon when read; the blended figure is Artificial Analysis' estimate.
What practitioners say
GPT-6 Astra: The launch drew the largest model thread of 2026 on Hacker News, and the stories that followed were about capability rather than cost: an Enigma message unsolved since 2005, a WWI cipher, a driving benchmark.
Gemini 4 Argon: The announcement thread ran to 1,190 comments; the independent analysis thread was smaller and more measured.
Questions people ask
Which is better, GPT-6 Astra or Gemini 4 Argon?
GPT-6 Astra and Gemini 4 Argon are within three points on the Models at Work leaderboard, which we treat as a tie (86 vs 85). Gemini 4 Argon is about 10× cheaper per blended million tokens ($1.99 vs $20, one figure an Artificial Analysis estimate).
When should I choose GPT-6 Astra over Gemini 4 Argon?
Choose GPT-6 Astra for hard reasoning, research-grade analysis, when cost is not the constraint. The reasoning heavyweight: leads the hardest exams and the cipher-cracking party tricks, and charges like it.
When should I choose Gemini 4 Argon over GPT-6 Astra?
Choose Gemini 4 Argon for chat and assistant products, google cloud shops, price-sensitive frontier work. Wins the popularity contest: first on Arena, mid-pack on the index, and priced like a workhorse.
Which is cheaper, GPT-6 Astra or Gemini 4 Argon?
GPT-6 Astra costs $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens on OpenAI's list price (OpenAI API pricing, read Oct 10, 2026). Google does not publish a simple list price for Gemini 4 Argon; Artificial Analysis estimates a blended $1.99 per million tokens (three input to one output).
Scores come from the Models at Work leaderboard: Score is 0 to 100: 50% independent evals normalised within this table, 20% price-performance, 15% practitioner sentiment from Signals and community threads, 15% operational fit (context, speed, availability, open weights). Models within three points are a tie in practice. Vendor-published figures are labelled as such and never counted as independent. Prices are vendor list prices where published; blended figures assume three input tokens per output token.