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HEAD TO HEAD · UPDATED NOV 6, 2026
GPT-6 Astra vs Muse Spark Open
OpenAI against Meta, on sourced numbers only. Green marks the higher (or cheaper) value on each row; the text below only calls a lead when the gap is bigger than measurement noise.
| GPT-6 Astra | Muse Spark Open | |
|---|---|---|
| Arena Elo | 1476 source ↗ | not published |
| GPQA Diamond | 96.0% source ↗ | 89.0% source ↗ |
| $ per 1M in / out | $10 / $50 source ↗ | $1.25 / $4.25 source ↗ |
| Blended $ per 1M (3:1) | $20.00 source ↗ | $2.00 source ↗ |
| Context window | 1.05M source ↗ | 1M source ↗ |
| Output speed | not published | 153 tok/s source ↗ |
| Released | Sep 3, 2026 source ↗ | Oct 15, 2026 source ↗ |
| Open weights | No source ↗ | Yes source ↗ |
| Reasoning effort tiers | low · medium · high · xhigh · max (default: not stated) | not verified (default: not stated) |
| API effort control | reasoning={"effort": "low" | "medium" | "high" | "xhigh" | "max"} source ↗ | Not verified: reasoning controls depend on the host source ↗ |
| Additional benchmarks | DeepSWE v1.1: 74.1% source ↗ Terminal-Bench 4.0: 57.9% source ↗ AA Intelligence Index v5.0.1: 57 (Max) source ↗ | Size: 816B total, 42B active (MoE) source ↗ Output speed: 153 tok/s, varies by host source ↗ |
| Best for (workload) | OpenAI's most capable model: 96.0% GPQA Diamond, 74.1% DeepSWE v1.1 and 57.9% Terminal-Bench 4.0 (OpenAI). source ↗ | Meta's large open-weights model (816B total, 42B active) with a 1M context window; 89.0% GPQA Diamond (Meta). source ↗ |
Arena Elo from the arena.ai text leaderboard as of Oct 27, 2026 source ↗. Speed measured by Artificial Analysis and varies by provider.
Which one should I use?
For high-volume work where cost matters most, Muse Spark Open is about 10.0 times cheaper per token. For hard science and analysis questions, GPT-6 Astra scores higher on GPQA Diamond (96.0% vs 89.0%). If you need to self-host or fine-tune, only Muse Spark Open has open weights. On release timing, OpenAI is at day 11 of a typical ~23-day gap (ADOPT NOW · FRESH RELEASE), and Meta is at day 22 of a typical ~14-day gap (PAST TYPICAL GAP).
Key differences from the sourced numbers
- Muse Spark Open is the cheaper option: $2.00 vs $20.00 per 1M tokens at a 3:1 input-to-output mix (about 10.0 times less).
- On GPQA Diamond, graduate-level science questions, GPT-6 Astra leads 96.0% to 89.0%.
- GPT-6 Astra pricing note: Prompts up to 272K tokens; $20 / $75 above 272K. Batch and Flex: $5 / $25.
- Muse Spark Open pricing note: Hosted price on OpenRouter (ID meta/muse-spark-open) and Together AI (ID meta-models/Muse-Spark-Open-816B-A42B). Open weights under the Muse Model License.
Frequently asked questions
Is GPT-6 Astra or Muse Spark Open better?
Muse Spark Open is the cheaper option: $2.00 vs $20.00 per 1M tokens at a 3:1 input-to-output mix (about 10.0 times less). On GPQA Diamond, graduate-level science questions, GPT-6 Astra leads 96.0% to 89.0%. GPT-6 Astra pricing note: Prompts up to 272K tokens; $20 / $75 above 272K. Batch and Flex: $5 / $25. Muse Spark Open pricing note: Hosted price on OpenRouter (ID meta/muse-spark-open) and Together AI (ID meta-models/Muse-Spark-Open-816B-A42B). Open weights under the Muse Model License.
Which one should I use: GPT-6 Astra or Muse Spark Open?
For high-volume work where cost matters most, Muse Spark Open is about 10.0 times cheaper per token. For hard science and analysis questions, GPT-6 Astra scores higher on GPQA Diamond (96.0% vs 89.0%). If you need to self-host or fine-tune, only Muse Spark Open has open weights. On release timing, OpenAI is at day 11 of a typical ~23-day gap (ADOPT NOW · FRESH RELEASE), and Meta is at day 22 of a typical ~14-day gap (PAST TYPICAL GAP).
How much does GPT-6 Astra cost compared with Muse Spark Open?
GPT-6 Astra lists at $10 / $50 per 1M input/output tokens ($20.00/1M blended at 3:1). Muse Spark Open lists at $1.25 / $4.25 per 1M input/output tokens ($2.00/1M blended at 3:1).
Facts checked Nov 5, 2026 against official sources. Every number links to its source. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].