| Signal | Grok 4.1 Fast | Delta | Sonar Deep Research |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 100 | +50 | |
Benchmarks | 76 | +76 | |
Pricing | 100 | +8 | |
Context window size | 100 | +19 | |
Recency | 100 | +45 | |
Output Capacity | 75 | +55 | |
| Overall Result | 6 wins | of 6 | 0 wins |
Score History
78
current score
Grok 4.1 Fast
right now
40
current score
xAI
Perplexity
Grok 4.1 Fast saves you $555.00/month
That's $6660.00/year compared to Sonar Deep Research at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | Grok 4.1 Fast | Sonar Deep Research | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 78 | 40 | Grok 4.1 Fast |
| Rank | #52 | #285 | Grok 4.1 Fast |
| Quality Rank | #52 | #285 | Grok 4.1 Fast |
| Adoption Rank | #52 | #285 | Grok 4.1 Fast |
| Parameters | -- | -- | -- |
| Context Window | 2000K | 128K | Grok 4.1 Fast |
| Pricing | $0.20/$0.50/M | $2.00/$8.00/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 100 | 50 | Grok 4.1 Fast |
| Benchmarks | 76 | -- | Grok 4.1 Fast |
| Pricing | 100 | 92 | Grok 4.1 Fast |
| Context window size | 100 | 81 | Grok 4.1 Fast |
| Recency | 100 | 55 | Grok 4.1 Fast |
| Output Capacity | 75 | 20 | Grok 4.1 Fast |
Our score (0-100) is driven by benchmark performance (90%) from Arena Elo ratings, MMLU, GPQA, HumanEval, SWE-bench, and 15+ standardized evaluations. Capabilities and context window serve as tiebreakers (10%). Learn more about our methodology.
Scores 78/100 (rank #52), placing it in the top 82% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 40/100 (rank #285), placing it in the top 2% of all 290 models tracked.
Grok 4.1 Fast has a 38-point advantage, which typically translates to noticeably stronger performance on complex reasoning, code generation, and multi-step tasks.
Grok 4.1 Fast offers 93% better value per quality point. At 1M tokens/day, you'd spend $10.50/month with Grok 4.1 Fast vs $150.00/month with Sonar Deep Research - a $139.50 monthly difference.
Both models have comparable response speeds. For most applications, the latency difference is negligible.
When latency matters most: Interactive chatbots, IDE code completion, real-time translation, and user-facing applications where response time directly impacts experience. For batch processing, background summarization, or offline analysis, latency is less critical.
Code generation & review
Based on overall model capabilities and architecture for coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Suitable for user-facing chat with competitive response times. Grok 4.1 Fast also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (2000K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($0.50/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (78/100) correlates with better nuance, coherence, and style in long-form content
Image understanding & OCR
Supports vision input - can analyze screenshots, diagrams, photos, and scanned documents directly
Grok 4.1 Fast clearly outperforms Sonar Deep Research with a significant 38-point lead. For most general use cases, Grok 4.1 Fast is the stronger choice. However, Sonar Deep Research may still excel in niche scenarios.
Best for Quality
Grok 4.1 Fast
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
Grok 4.1 Fast
93% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
Grok 4.1 Fast
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
Grok 4.1 Fast
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
Grok 4.1 Fast
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by xAI
| Capability | Grok 4.1 Fast | Sonar Deep Research |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input)differs | ||
| Function Callingdiffers | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Modediffers | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Web Search | ||
| Image Output |
xAI
Perplexity
Grok 4.1 Fast saves you $12.24/month
That's 93% cheaper than Sonar Deep Research at 1,000 tokens/request and 100 requests/day.
Assumes 60% input / 40% output token ratio per request. Actual costs may vary based on your usage pattern.
| Parameter | Grok 4.1 Fast | Sonar Deep Research |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 2M | 128K |
| Max Output Tokens | 30,000 | -- |
| Open Source | No | No |
| Created | Nov 19, 2025 | Mar 7, 2025 |