Ox Alpha is free for input tokens while Inkling Small costs $0.45 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
New🔥Ox Alpha vs Inkling Small
Pick Ox Alpha when budget is the priority.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Ox Alpha when budget is the priority.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ox Alpha is estimated at $0 vs $1.05 for Inkling Small, saving $1.05 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickOx Alpha
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$1.05100%
10x traffic gap$10.5
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $10.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Ox Alpha stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Ox Alpha | Inkling Small |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Ox Alpha | $0 | $2.85 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Ox Alpha | $0 | $1.65 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Ox Alpha | $0 | $6.45 |
Ox Alpha is free for output tokens while Inkling Small costs $1.2 per 1M tokens.
Both models report the same context window at 1.05M tokens.
Ox Alpha is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $1.05.
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.
Quick Decision
Ox Alpha has the lower input price; Ox Alpha has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Ox Alpha is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for Ox Alpha and $1.05 for Inkling Small.
Choose Ox Alpha when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose Inkling Small when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ox Alpha is estimated at $0 vs $1.05 for Inkling Small, saving $1.05 (100% lower).
- Ox Alpha is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $1.05.
- Ox Alpha is free for input tokens while Inkling Small costs $0.45 per 1M tokens.
- Ox Alpha is free for output tokens while Inkling Small costs $1.2 per 1M tokens.
- Both models report the same context window at 1.05M tokens.
| Feature | New🔥Ox Alpha (stealth) | Inkling Small (Thinking Machines) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0 | $0.45 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0 | $1.2 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0 | $1.05 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 1.05M |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #4 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Ox Alpha | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ox Alpha is estimated at $0 vs $1.05 for Inkling Small, saving $1.05 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Ox Alpha | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Ox Alpha | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Tie | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Inkling Small (free) can replace Inkling Small when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Inkling (free) can replace Inkling Small when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.11 sample workload cost.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.25 sample workload cost.
- MiMo-V2.5 offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #1
- MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #2
- Hy3 · Tencent · #3
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423 · DeepSeek · #5
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsstealth catalog
Review all tracked stealth models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open stealth modelsThinking Machines catalog
Check other Thinking Machines models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Thinking Machines modelsOx Alpha is a reasoning model designed for coding, sustained agentic work, and production workloads. It is suited for long-horizon software engineering, complex reasoning, and workflows that combine text with...
Inkling Small is an open-weight multimodal mixture-of-experts model from Thinking Machines Lab, with 12B active parameters out of 276B total. It is positioned as the smaller, more efficient member of...