AI Models · Open-Source vs Paid

LFM2.5-2.6B Open vs Grok 4.7 Paid

LFM2.5-2.6B vs Grok 4.7 compared — price per token, context window, multimodality, openness and which to choose. Can the open-source model replace the paid one? Full 2026 breakdown.

Prices & specs refreshed from live data · olud.ai

Open-model prices = cheapest provider via OpenRouter; official maker rates may be higher.

LFM2.5-2.6BOpenLiquid
$0.35 /M input
$0.5 /M outputNo per-token fees if you self-host
TypeOpen-weight
Context window128K tokens
MultimodalNo
Self-hostYes
Grok 4.7PaidxAI
$2 /M input
$6 /M outputManaged API (no infra to run)
TypeProprietary
Context window500K tokens
MultimodalYes
Self-hostNo
Choose LFM2.5-2.6B if you want to self-host, keep your data private and skip per-token fees — it's open-weight and runs on your own hardware. Choose Grok 4.7 if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

LFM2.5-2.6B vs Grok 4.7 specs

SpecLFM2.5-2.6BGrok 4.7Winner
MakerLiquidxAI–
TypeOpen-weightProprietaryLFM2.5-2.6B
Context window128K tokens500K tokensGrok 4.7
Input price$0.35/M · free self-host$2/MLFM2.5-2.6B
Output price$0.5/M · free self-host$6/MLFM2.5-2.6B
Vision / multimodalNoYesGrok 4.7
Tool / function callingYesYes= Tie
Self-hostableYesNo (API only)LFM2.5-2.6B
LicenseOpen weightsProprietaryLFM2.5-2.6B

Price gap & when to choose each

12×cheaper per output token

LFM2.5-2.6B is ~12× cheaper than Grok 4.7 on output tokens ($0.5 vs $6 per M tokens).

Choose LFM2.5-2.6B if…
  • You want to self-host or run on your cloud
  • You prioritize data privacy & control
  • You want the lowest operating costs
  • You are building open or reproducible AI
Choose Grok 4.7 if…
  • You want frontier performance through a managed API
  • You need the longer 500K context window
  • You value reliability & ecosystem
  • You don't want to manage infrastructure

Feature comparison

CapabilityLFM2.5-2.6BGrok 4.7
Open weights (downloadable)✓✗
Self-hostable✓✗
Runs fully offline✓✗
Vision / multimodal✗✓
Tool / function calling✓✓
1M+ context window✗✗

Benchmarks: LFM2.5-2.6B vs Grok 4.7

Independent benchmark scores measured by Artificial Analysis. Higher is better (except latency).

LFM2.5-2.6B
Grok 4.7
Intelligence index
8.4
46.4
Coding index
7.7
–
GPQA
55.8%
–
Humanity's Last Exam
6.2%
43.1%
Long Context Reasoning
5.7%
76.7%
SciCode
14.4%
57.4%
τ-Bench Banking
7.2%
–
Terminal-Bench
4.5%
–
Speed
0 tok/s
75.9 tok/s
Latency
0s
14.32s
Intelligence per $
–
15.5

Benchmark data by Artificial Analysis.

How LFM2.5-2.6B and Grok 4.7 score

🏆 Best value & openness: LFM2.5-2.6B (4.4 vs 3.2 / 5)
CriterionLFM2.5-2.6BGrok 4.7
Cost-efficiency5.04.0
Context window3.54.5
Openness5.01.5
Self-hosting5.01.0
Multimodality3.55.0

Scores come from live data — output price (cost), context length, open vs closed weights (openness & self-hosting) and vision/tool support (multimodality). Raw task quality isn't scored here; it depends on your benchmark — see the verdict.

What each model is

LFM2.5-2.6B Open

Liquid · Open-weight

LFM2.5-2.6B is a compact reasoning model from Liquid AI. It is suited for agent workflows, data extraction, RAG, and long-context processing. Liquid advises against using it for agentic coding or...

Grok 4.7 Paid

xAI · Proprietary

Grok 4.7 is SpaceXAI's flagship model for coding, agentic tasks, and knowledge work, succeeding Grok 4.6. It is particularly strong at long-running software engineering tasks, verifying its own work, and...

Other models in these families

These variants are tracked but not compared here — one page per family keeps the comparison readable.

Other variants tracked
LFM2.5-2.6B (free)LFM2.5-24B-A2B
Other variants tracked
Grok 4.6Grok 4.5Grok 4.20Grok 4.3Grok 4.3 (batch)Grok 4.20 Multi-AgentGrok Build 0.1

Frequently asked questions

Is LFM2.5-2.6B as good as Grok 4.7?

LFM2.5-2.6B is open-weight and competitive on many tasks, but Grok 4.7 may still lead on the hardest reasoning and agentic work. The gap keeps narrowing — benchmark both on your actual use case before deciding.

Can I run LFM2.5-2.6B locally?

Yes. LFM2.5-2.6B has open weights, so you can self-host it on your own GPUs or run it via a low-cost API. Grok 4.7 is API-only and cannot be self-hosted.

How much cheaper is LFM2.5-2.6B?

LFM2.5-2.6B costs $0.5/M output vs $6/M for Grok 4.7 — roughly 12x cheaper via API, and free if you self-host.

LFM2.5-2.6B vs Grok 4.7 — which should I pick in 2026?

Choose LFM2.5-2.6B if you want to self-host, keep your data private and skip per-token fees — it's open-weight and runs on your own hardware. Choose Grok 4.7 if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

People also compare

Explore more open-source AI

Browse the full open-source model leaderboard, thousands of tools and live benchmarks — all in one place.

Open the leaderboard →