AI Models · Open-Source vs Paid

Muse Glimmer 30B Open vs GPT-6 Astra (batch) Paid

Muse Glimmer 30B vs GPT-6 Astra (batch) 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.

Muse Glimmer 30BOpenMeta
$0.3 /M input
$1.1 /M outputNo per-token fees if you self-host
TypeOpen-weight
Context window131K tokens
MultimodalYes
Self-hostYes
GPT-6 Astra (batch)PaidOpenAI
$5 /M input
$25 /M outputManaged API (no infra to run)
TypeProprietary
Context window1.1M tokens
MultimodalYes
Self-hostNo
Choose Muse Glimmer 30B 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 GPT-6 Astra (batch) if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

Muse Glimmer 30B vs GPT-6 Astra (batch) specs

SpecMuse Glimmer 30BGPT-6 Astra (batch)Winner
MakerMetaOpenAI
TypeOpen-weightProprietaryMuse Glimmer 30B
Context window131K tokens1.1M tokensGPT-6 Astra (batch)
Input price$0.3/M · free self-host$5/MMuse Glimmer 30B
Output price$1.1/M · free self-host$25/MMuse Glimmer 30B
Vision / multimodalYesYes= Tie
Tool / function callingYesYes= Tie
Self-hostableYesNo (API only)Muse Glimmer 30B
LicenseOpen weightsProprietaryMuse Glimmer 30B

Price gap & when to choose each

23×cheaper per output token

Muse Glimmer 30B is ~23× cheaper than GPT-6 Astra (batch) on output tokens ($1.1 vs $25 per M tokens).

Choose Muse Glimmer 30B 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 GPT-6 Astra (batch) if…
  • You want frontier performance through a managed API
  • You need the longer 1.1M context window
  • You value reliability & ecosystem
  • You don't want to manage infrastructure

Feature comparison

CapabilityMuse Glimmer 30BGPT-6 Astra (batch)
Open weights (downloadable)
Self-hostable
Runs fully offline
Vision / multimodal
Tool / function calling
1M+ context window

Benchmarks: Muse Glimmer 30B vs GPT-6 Astra (batch)

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

Muse Glimmer 30B delivers 11× more intelligence per dollar.
Muse Glimmer 30B
GPT-6 Astra (batch)
Intelligence index
18.1
52.8
Coding index
49
76.9
GPQA
83.5%
96.1%
Humanity's Last Exam
22%
54.7%
Long Context Reasoning
83.3%
80.7%
SciCode
44.9%
56.5%
τ-Bench Banking
23.5%
41.4%
Terminal-Bench
51.7%
88.4%
Speed
93.8 tok/s
64.2 tok/s
Latency
0.37s
215.68s
Intelligence per $
28.4
2.6

Benchmark data by Artificial Analysis.

How Muse Glimmer 30B and GPT-6 Astra (batch) score

🏆 Best value & openness: Muse Glimmer 30B (4.6 vs 3.1 / 5)
CriterionMuse Glimmer 30BGPT-6 Astra (batch)
Cost-efficiency4.53.0
Context window3.55.0
Openness5.01.5
Self-hosting5.01.0
Multimodality5.05.0

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

Muse Glimmer 30B Open

Meta · Open-weight

Muse Glimmer 30B is a dense, open-weight multimodal model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, distilled from Muse Spark and optimized for autonomous agents on consumer hardware. It is suited for long-horizon...

GPT-6 Astra (batch) Paid

OpenAI · Proprietary

GPT-6 Astra is OpenAI's flagship model for demanding end-to-end work. It is suited for advanced analysis, software engineering, deep research, scientific work, and document creation, with particular strengths in long-horizon...

Other models in these families

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

Other variants tracked
Muse Glimmer 30B (batch)

Frequently asked questions

Is Muse Glimmer 30B as good as GPT-6 Astra (batch)?

Muse Glimmer 30B is open-weight and competitive on many tasks, but GPT-6 Astra (batch) 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 Muse Glimmer 30B locally?

Yes. Muse Glimmer 30B has open weights, so you can self-host it on your own GPUs or run it via a low-cost API. GPT-6 Astra (batch) is API-only and cannot be self-hosted.

How much cheaper is Muse Glimmer 30B?

Muse Glimmer 30B costs $1.1/M output vs $25/M for GPT-6 Astra (batch) — roughly 23x cheaper via API, and free if you self-host.

Muse Glimmer 30B vs GPT-6 Astra (batch) — which should I pick in 2026?

Choose Muse Glimmer 30B 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 GPT-6 Astra (batch) if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

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