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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) vs Aion-3.0

Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) comes out ahead, 52 to 26 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    xAI

    Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)

    Released Mar 9, 2026

    52/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.25 / $2.50
    • Context1M
  2. Aion Labs

    Aion-3.0

    Released May 5, 2026

    26/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$3.00 / $6.00
    • Context131K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) is our pick

Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) is the better all-round choice, scoring 52/100 against Aion-3.0 (26). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) $1.56 · Aion-3.0 $3.75 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) 1,000,000 · Aion-3.0 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning): Text, Images, PDFs · Aion-3.0: Text
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)Aion-3.0
Price50%3922
Inputs & features30%7035
Context window20%6025
Overall100%52/10026/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) vs Aion-3.0 specifications side by side
SpecificationGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)xAIAion-3.0Aion Labs
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$1.25 (best)$3.00
Output$2.50 (best)$6.00
Cached input$0.20—
Blended (3:1)$1.56 (best)$3.75
Long-context rateOver 200K: $2.50 / $5.00Same rate
Price sourceOfficial xAI APIMedian of 4 providers
Limits
Context window1,000,000 tokens (best)131,072 tokens
Max output30,000 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsYesNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDgrok-4.20-0309-non-reasoning—
API providers13 (best)4
ReleasedMar 9, 2026May 5, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)$17.50
  • Aion-3.0$42.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) or Aion-3.0?

Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) is the better all-round choice, scoring 52/100 against Aion-3.0 (26). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) or Aion-3.0?

Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) is cheaper at $1.25 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (official xAI API price). Aion-3.0 costs $3.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 4 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.56 per million tokens for Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) versus $3.75 for Aion-3.0 (2.4× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) has not been scored yet and Aion-3.0 has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) and Aion-3.0 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 131,072 for Aion-3.0. Maximum output per response: Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) up to 30,000, Aion-3.0 up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) accepts text, images and PDFs; Aion-3.0 accepts text. Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) and Aion-3.0 are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Aion-3.0 is the newest, released May 5, 2026. Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) came out Mar 9, 2026.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.