GPT-6.1 Sol for Chemical Companies: Near the Top for a Tenth of the Bill
OpenAI's GPT-6.1 Sol scores a few points under the two Claude models that lead the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, and runs one of its tasks for $0.72 where they cost $6 to $8. For a chemical distributor or producer, that makes it a candidate for research you run often, with limits to test first.
GPT-6.1 Sol at a glance
What GPT-6.1 Sol is.
OpenAI released GPT-6.1 Sol on 29 September 2026. OpenAI describes it as “near-Astra performance for complex work at a lower cost”, where Astra is its larger GPT-6 model. It reads text and images, holds up to 1,050,000 tokens, and costs $2 for every million tokens you send and $10 for every million it writes.
It is a general model: it drafts, summarizes, and reasons through research. You choose how hard it thinks, from low to max. The scores on this page are at max, the setting each test ran.
Near the top, for a tenth of the bill.
Each dot is a model on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index: how high it scores, and what one of the index's tasks costs to run on it. Sol sits a few points under the two Claude models at the top, at about a tenth of their cost. The line under the chart sets one model against Sol; tap any dot to change it.
Claude Sonnet 5.5: 56 on the index, 4.2 points above Sol, at $7.67 a task, 10.7 times Sol's cost. Tap any dot to compare.
Artificial Analysis: models and the Intelligence IndexNo date stated
Where Sol lands on the guide's tests.
Two of the guide's jobs have an independent test that ran GPT-6.1 Sol, both at its max setting.
US regulatory research questions answered fully right, out of 66
The test cannot separate Sol from the leader: the gap sits inside its margin of error, by 0.16 points. Three other models score exactly 53.03%, and one of them costs about a tenth as much.
Where Sol falls short.
A smaller bill buys a smaller result in some places. These are the ones the tests show.
Finished Work Trails the Leaders
On rated professional work it is 13th of 24, behind open models such as MiMo V2.6 Pro. For a report a customer reads, the guide's pick is a larger model.
Artificial Analysis: models and the Intelligence IndexNo date stated
Its Regulatory Result Is a Tie, Not a Win
53.03% sits inside the leader's margin by 0.16 points, on 66 questions of US law. Three other models score exactly the same, one of them for $0.25 a question.
No Document Test Yet
Neither document test in the guide has scored GPT-6.1 Sol. ParseBench lists GPT-6 Sol, an earlier model. Do not assume its result carries over to your price lists or certificates.
ParseBench leaderboard29 Sep 2026
Gemini 4 Argon's Price Is a Launch Offer
Argon scores 52.6 on the index at $1.99 a task, but that is a 50% launch discount. The testers say it rises to $3.98 a task when the discount ends. Google is rolling Argon out to selected users, so it is not generally available yet.
Artificial Analysis: Gemini 4 Argon30 Sep 2026
Index Tasks Are Not Your Tasks
The $0.72 is the average cost of the index's own tasks. Your cost depends on how long your documents are and how much Sol writes back.
Artificial Analysis: models and the Intelligence IndexNo date stated
Questions about GPT-6.1 Sol.
Short answers, from the same sources as the rest of this page.
What is GPT-6.1 Sol?
A general model from OpenAI, released on 29 September 2026. OpenAI describes it as near-Astra performance at a lower cost. It costs $2 for every million tokens sent and $10 for every million written.
How good is GPT-6.1 Sol?
It scores 51.8 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 11th of 223 models in its price class. Claude Opus 5.5 leads the index at 57.6.
Is GPT-6.1 Sol cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5.5?
Per token they cost the same: $2 in and $10 out. Per index task, Sol cost $0.72 and Sonnet 5.5 cost $7.67, because Sonnet used far more tokens. On regulatory research Sol cost $2.76 a question against $12.64.
Can a chemical company use GPT-6.1 Sol for regulatory research?
On a test of 66 US regulatory questions it got 53.03% fully right, which the test cannot separate from the leader. The test is US law, not REACH or GHS, so make it quote the dated official text, and check that text yourself.
Sources.
- Artificial Analysis: models and the Intelligence Index Artificial Analysis, an independent testing company. Each model's record gives its index score, its cost per index task, and its professional work rating.States no date · Vailent checked 6 Oct 2026
- Artificial Analysis: GPT-6.1 Sol Artificial Analysis, an independent testing company. It ranks the model against the 223 models in its price class.States no date · Vailent checked 30 Sep 2026
- Artificial Analysis: Gemini 4 Argon Artificial Analysis, an independent testing company, on its own tests of the model.Published 30 Sep 2026 · Vailent checked 5 Oct 2026
- vals.ai Legal Research, regulatory questions vals.ai, an independent testing company. Lawyers wrote and checked the questions; an answer counts only if it meets every point on the lawyers' list.Published 6 Oct 2026 · Vailent checked 6 Oct 2026
- ParseBench leaderboard LlamaIndex, which sells LlamaParse, a product it ranks.Published 29 Sep 2026 · Vailent checked 30 Sep 2026
- OpenAI: GPT-6.1 Sol The maker's own page.States no date · Vailent checked 30 Sep 2026