API cost decision in 10 seconds

Grok 4.20 vs Relace Search

The standard workload cost is tied; choose by context window, provider fit, latency, or model quality.

Pricing data updated: 2026-05-26T11:08:00Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

The standard workload cost is tied; choose by context window, provider fit, latency, or model quality.

Both models are estimated at $2.5 for the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Cost-first pickTie

Context-first pickGrok 4.20

Sample savings$00%

10x traffic gap$0

Context-window winner: Grok 4.20. Cost does not separate this pair on the standard workload, so the next decision point is context window and model behavior.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Relace Search, balanced workload favors Grok 4.20, and output-heavy chatbot favors Grok 4.20.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Grok 4.20	Relace Search
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Relace Search	$7.5	$6.5
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Grok 4.20	$3.75	$4
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Grok 4.20	$13.75	$16

Cheaper input Relace Search $1.25 vs $1 / 1M

Relace Search is $0.25 cheaper per 1M input tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).

Cheaper output Grok 4.20 $2.5 vs $3 / 1M

Grok 4.20 is $0.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (16.7% lower; 1.2x difference).

Larger context Grok 4.20 2M vs 256K

Grok 4.20 has 1.74M more context (7.81x larger).

Sample workload Tie $2.5 vs $2.5

Both models have the same estimated cost for the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload: $2.5.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Grok 4.20 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Relace Search Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

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

Verdict

Relace Search has the lower input price; Grok 4.20 has the lower output price; Grok 4.20 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, the standard workload cost is tied.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2.5 for Grok 4.20 and $2.5 for Relace Search.

Best Fit

Choose Grok 4.20 when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Choose Relace Search when you care most about lower input-token price.

Decision Notes

Both models are estimated at $2.5 for the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Both models have the same estimated cost for the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload: $2.5.
Relace Search is $0.25 cheaper per 1M input tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
Grok 4.20 is $0.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (16.7% lower; 1.2x difference).
Grok 4.20 has 1.74M more context (7.81x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Grok 4.20 (xAI)	Relace Search (Relace)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$1.25	$1
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$2.5	$3
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$2.5	$2.5
Context Window	2M	256K
Release Date	2026-03-31	2025-12-08

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Tie	Both models are estimated at $2.5 for the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
High-volume input processing	Relace Search	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Grok 4.20	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Grok 4.20	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Grok Build 0.1 can replace Grok 4.20 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.
Relace Apply 3 can replace Relace Search when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.48.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

No popular competitor is currently available.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

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Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

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Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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xAI catalog

Review all tracked xAI models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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Relace catalog

Check other Relace models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open Relace models

Grok 4.20

Grok 4.20 is a reasoning model from xAI with industry-leading speed and agentic tool calling capabilities. It combines the lowest hallucination rate on the market with strict prompt adherance, delivering...

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