Thinking Machines: Inkling
Inking, by Thinking Machines, is a versatile AI model capable of processing text, images, and audio inputs within an extensive context length of 1048576 tokens. It supports tools and reasoning, making it suitable for complex tasks that require both depth in understanding and interaction with external data. The model’s performance stands at a blended benchmark score of 70.5 across three independent tests, indicating solid capabilities but areas for improvement, especially in the agentic domain. At a pricing point of $0.95 per million input tokens and $4.05 per million output tokens, Inking may be more suitable for projects that require a balanced mix of processing power and cost-efficiency, given its performance level.
Benchmark results
Independent, published benchmarks. Blended score 70.5 across 3 benchmarks, last refreshed 2026-08-13. How scoring works →
| Benchmark | Measures | Score |
|---|---|---|
| AI Index | broad capability composite | 69.8 |
| AI Index Coding | software engineering tasks | 85.9 |
| AI Index Agentic | multi-step tool-using tasks | 56.3 |
- Model ID
- thinkingmachines/inkling
- Vendor
- thinkingmachines
- Released
- July 2026
- Tokenizer
- Other
- Input Modalities
- text, image, audio
- Output Modalities
- text
- Max Output
- 262,144 tokens
- Tool Calling
- ✓ supported
- Structured Output
- ✓ supported
- Reasoning Mode
- ✓ supported
- Vision
- ✓ accepts images
- Audio
- ✓ accepts audio
- Moderated
- no
What it costs in practice
Computed from the current $0.95/M input and $4.05/M output rates. Run your own numbers →
| Job | Tokens | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Summarize a 50-page report | 30k in / 1.5k out | $0.03 |
| Classify 1,000 customer emails | 500k in / 50k out | $0.68 |
| A month of a busy support chatbot | 5M in / 2M out | $12.85 |
Price & spec history
Tracked daily by PicksByModel since 2026-07-18.
| Date | Input /M | Output /M | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-08 | $0.95 | $4.05 | 1,048,576 |
| 2026-07-24 | $1.00 | $4.05 | 1,048,576 |
| 2026-07-22 | $1.00 | $4.05 | 524,288 |
| 2026-07-18 | $1.00 | $4.05 | 1,048,576 |
Strong choice for
Category rankings
Where Thinking Machines: Inkling places across the 9 categories it ranks in. How we rank →
| # | Category | Score |
|---|---|---|
| #5 | TranscriptionVoice · of 25 ranked | 123 |
| #7 | TTS ReplacementVoice · of 25 ranked | 115 |
| #8 | Image CaptioningVision · of 25 ranked | 121 |
| #9 | Audio SummarizationVoice · of 25 ranked | 155 |
| #19 | Customer SupportBusiness · of 25 ranked | 133 |
| #23 | JSON ExtractionData · of 25 ranked | 145 |
| #23 | Trivia & General KnowledgePersonal · of 25 ranked | 120 |
| #24 | Short-Form SummarizationWriting · of 25 ranked | 129 |
| #24 | Chat CompanionPersonal · of 25 ranked | 129 |
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Quick answers
- How much does Thinking Machines: Inkling cost?
- $0.95 per million input tokens and $4.05 per million output tokens.
- What is Thinking Machines: Inkling's context window?
- 1,048,576 tokens, roughly 1,572 pages of text in a single request.
- Does Thinking Machines: Inkling support tool calling?
- It supports tool calling, structured output, a reasoning mode.
- Can Thinking Machines: Inkling process images?
- Yes, it accepts image input.