KOR-Bench
Models read a new rule set and apply it to questions in five task types: operation, logic, cipher, puzzle and counterfactual. Scored by accuracy against an answer key.
The rules are designed to be independent of domain knowledge. ByteDance Seed reports it in Seed-OSS and Seed 1.6 launch posts.
- Released
- October 2024
- Kind
- Abstract puzzles and logic
- Level
- University
- Scored
- Checked automatically
- Answers
- Short answer
- Tasks
- All public
- Strongest model tested
- o1-mini #140 on the capability index
- Last in a launch post
- February 2026, dropped before it saturated
- Last model added
- March 2026
- Scores refreshed
- November 12th, 2026
In the authors’ words
In this paper, we introduce Knowledge-Orthogonal Reasoning (KOR), a concept aimed at minimizing reliance on domain-specific knowledge, enabling more accurate evaluation of models' reasoning abilities in out-of-distribution settings. Based on this concept, we propose the Knowledge-Orthogonal Reasoning Benchmark (KOR-Bench), encompassing five task categories: Operation, Logic, Cipher, Puzzle, and Counterfactual. KOR-Bench emphasizes models' effectiveness in applying new rule descriptions to solve novel rule-driven questions. O1-Preview and O1-Mini achieve accuracies of 72.88% and 70.16%, surpassing Claude-3.5-Sonnet and GPT-4o (58.96% and 58.00%), highlighting the effectiveness of KOR-Bench. We perform detailed analyses, identifying bottlenecks in the Cipher task with Stepwise Prompting, where two rounds of Self-Correction yield optimal results. We evaluate performance across three integrated tasks, explore the impact of Tricks on the Puzzle task, and visualize rule-focused attention. Additionally, we conduct an ablation study on dataset size, benchmark correlations, and zero-shot and three-shot "only questions" experiments. KOR-Bench aims to enhance reasoning evaluation and support further research in this area.
o1-preview leads with 72.9% among models released by September 2024
Best score per entry from the benchmark's own leaderboard, read on November 12th, 2026. Where a model ran with several settings or harnesses, we keep its best. Names in gray aren't in our model list: fine-tunes, agent systems, products and older models. They don't count toward leaders.
Seed2.0 Pro leads with 77.5%, claims included
Best score per model from every source, including labs’ own numbers and claims Epoch AI collected from reports and papers. Labs pick their own settings, so a claim can beat an independent run of the same model.
The newest model with a score here came out in September 2024, and nobody has tested a newer one. Among the 20 highest-ranked models on the capability index, these have no score yet:
- Claude Fable 5.2
-
Gemini 4 Carbon
- GPT-6 Astra
- Claude Opus 5.5
- and 16 more
- 72.9 o1-preview
- 70.2 o1-mini
- 59.0 Claude 3.5 Sonnet
- 58.0 GPT-4o
- 55.4
Llama 3.1-405B
- 54.7
Qwen2.5-32B
- 53.5 GPT-4 Turbo
- 53.1
Mistral Large 2
- 52.2
Qwen2.5-72B
- 50.0
Yi-Large
- 50.0
Llama 3.1-70B
- 49.4
Qwen2.5-14B
- 49.2
Llama 3-70B
- 48.1 Doubao-Pro-128k
- 47.8
DeepSeek-V2.5
- 47.0
Qwen2-72B
- 44.5
Gemma 2 27B
- 43.9
Phi-3.5-MoE
- 43.4
Gemini 1.5 Pro
- 41.6
Gemma 2 9B
- 39.8
Yi-1.5-34B
- 39.7 Meta-Llama-3.1-405B (base)
- 39.0
Phi-3.5-mini
- 38.6
Qwen2.5-7B
- 37.3 Qwen2.5-32B (base)
- 37.3 Qwen2.5-72B (base)
- 37.2
Llama 3.1-8B
- 35.2
Yi-1.5-9B-Chat
- 35.2 Meta-Llama-3-70B (base)
- 34.3 Qwen2-72B (base)
- 33.8 Meta-Llama-3.1-70B (base)
- 33.4 Gemma-2-27b (base)
- 33.3 Qwen2.5-14B (base)
- 32.8
Llama 3-8B
- 32.7
Command R+
- 32.5
Yi-1.5-6B-Chat
- 31.1 c4ai-command-r-08-2024
- 30.7
Qwen2-7B-Instruct
- 30.1 Yi-1.5-34B (base)
- 29.2 Yi-1.5-9B (base)
- 28.8 Qwen2.5-7B (base)
- 27.4 Qwen2-7B (base)
- 26.0 Meta-Llama-3.1-8B (base)
- 25.5 Gemma-2-9b (base)
- 25.0 Meta-Llama-3-8B (base)
- 24.3
Gemma 2 2B IT
- 24.2
Mistral 7B v0.3
- 21.6 Mistral-7B-v0.1 (base)
- 20.9 Yi-1.5-6B (base)
- 20.4 Qwen2.5-1.5B-Instruct
- 18.5 OLMo-7B-0724-Instruct-hf
- 18.2 MAP-Neo-7B-Instruct-v0.1
- 15.6 MAP-Neo-7B (base)
- 15.1 Qwen2.5-1.5B (base)
- 14.8 OLMo-7B-0724-hf (base)
- 14.3
Qwen2-1.5B-Instruct
- 13.2 Gemma-2-2b (base)
- 12.3 Qwen2-1.5B (base)
- 9.92 Qwen2-0.5B (base)
- 9.12 Qwen2.5-0.5B (base)
- 9.04 Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct
- 3.52
Qwen2-0.5B-Instruct
- 1 o1-preview chat model 72.9%
- 2 o1-mini chat model 70.2%
- 3 Claude 3.5 Sonnet chat model 59%
- 4 GPT-4o May 2024, chat model 58%
- 5
Llama 3.1-405B chat model 55.4%
- 6
Qwen2.5-32B chat model 54.7%
- 7 GPT-4 Turbo Apr 2024, chat model 53.5%
- 8
Mistral Large 2 Jul 2024, chat model 53.1%
- 9
Qwen2.5-72B chat model 52.2%
- 10
Yi-Large chat model 50%
- 11
Llama 3.1-70B chat model 50%
- 12
Qwen2.5-14B chat model 49.4%
- 13
Llama 3-70B chat model 49.2%
- 14 Doubao-Pro-128k chat model 48.1%
- 15
DeepSeek-V2.5 Sep 2024, chat model 47.8%
- 16
Qwen2-72B chat model 47%
- 17
Gemma 2 27B chat model 44.5%
- 18
Phi-3.5-MoE chat model 43.9%
- 19
Gemini 1.5 Pro May 2024, chat model 43.4%
- 20
Gemma 2 9B chat model 41.6%
- 21
Yi-1.5-34B chat model 39.8%
- 22 Meta-Llama-3.1-405B (base) base model 39.7%
- 23
Phi-3.5-mini chat model 39%
- 24
Qwen2.5-7B chat model 38.6%
- 25 Qwen2.5-32B (base) base model 37.3%
- 26 Qwen2.5-72B (base) base model 37.3%
- 27
Llama 3.1-8B chat model 37.2%
- 28
Yi-1.5-9B-Chat chat model 35.2%
- 29 Meta-Llama-3-70B (base) base model 35.2%
- 30 Qwen2-72B (base) base model 34.3%
- 31 Meta-Llama-3.1-70B (base) base model 33.8%
- 32 Gemma-2-27b (base) base model 33.4%
- 33 Qwen2.5-14B (base) base model 33.3%
- 34
Llama 3-8B chat model 32.8%
- 35
Command R+ chat model 32.7%
- 36
Yi-1.5-6B-Chat chat model 32.5%
- 37 c4ai-command-r-08-2024 chat model 31.1%
- 38
Qwen2-7B-Instruct chat model 30.7%
- 39 Yi-1.5-34B (base) base model 30.1%
- 40 Yi-1.5-9B (base) base model 29.2%
- 41 Qwen2.5-7B (base) base model 28.8%
- 42 Qwen2-7B (base) base model 27.4%
- 43 Meta-Llama-3.1-8B (base) base model 26%
- 44 Gemma-2-9b (base) base model 25.5%
- 45 Meta-Llama-3-8B (base) base model 25%
- 46
Gemma 2 2B IT chat model 24.3%
- 47
Mistral 7B v0.3 chat model 24.2%
- 48 Mistral-7B-v0.1 (base) base model 21.6%
- 49 Yi-1.5-6B (base) base model 20.9%
- 50 Qwen2.5-1.5B-Instruct chat model 20.4%
- 51 OLMo-7B-0724-Instruct-hf chat model 18.5%
- 52 MAP-Neo-7B-Instruct-v0.1 chat model 18.2%
- 53 MAP-Neo-7B (base) base model 15.6%
- 54 Qwen2.5-1.5B (base) base model 15.1%
- 55 OLMo-7B-0724-hf (base) base model 14.8%
- 56
Qwen2-1.5B-Instruct chat model 14.3%
- 57 Gemma-2-2b (base) base model 13.2%
- 58 Qwen2-1.5B (base) base model 12.3%
- 59 Qwen2-0.5B (base) base model 9.92%
- 60 Qwen2.5-0.5B (base) base model 9.12%
- 61 Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct chat model 9.04%
- 62
Qwen2-0.5B-Instruct chat model 3.52%
Source: Official KOR-Bench leaderboard
- 77.5
Seed2.0 Pro
- 76.2
Seed1.8
- 72.9 o1-preview
- 70.6
seed-oss-36b-instruct
- 70.2 o1-mini
- 59.0 Claude 3.5 Sonnet
- 58.0 GPT-4o
- 56.4
InternLM3-8B-Instruct
- 55.4
Llama 3.1-405B
- 54.7
Qwen2.5-32B
- 53.5 GPT-4 Turbo
- 53.1
Mistral Large 2
- 52.2
Qwen2.5-72B
- 50.0
Yi-Large
- 50.0
Llama 3.1-70B
- 49.4
Qwen2.5-14B
- 49.2
Llama 3-70B
- 47.8
DeepSeek-V2.5
- 47.0
Qwen2-72B
- 44.5
Gemma 2 27B
- 43.9
Phi-3.5-MoE
- 43.4
Gemini 1.5 Pro
- 41.6
Gemma 2 9B
- 39.8
Yi-1.5-34B
- 39.0
Phi-3.5-mini
- 38.6
Qwen2.5-7B
- 37.2
Llama 3.1-8B
- 35.2
Yi-1.5-9B-Chat
- 32.8
Llama 3-8B
- 32.7
Command R+
- 32.5
Yi-1.5-6B-Chat
- 31.1 c4ai-command-r-08-2024
- 30.7
Qwen2-7B-Instruct
- 24.3
Gemma 2 2B IT
- 24.2
Mistral 7B v0.3
- 14.3
Qwen2-1.5B-Instruct
- 3.52
Qwen2-0.5B-Instruct
- 1
Seed2.0 Pro 77.5%
- 2
Seed1.8 76.2%
- 3 o1-preview chat model 72.9%
- 4
seed-oss-36b-instruct 70.6%
- 5 o1-mini chat model 70.2%
- 6 Claude 3.5 Sonnet chat model 59%
- 7 GPT-4o May 2024, chat model 58%
- 8
InternLM3-8B-Instruct 56.4%
- 9
Llama 3.1-405B chat model 55.4%
- 10
Qwen2.5-32B chat model 54.7%
- 11 GPT-4 Turbo Apr 2024, chat model 53.5%
- 12
Mistral Large 2 Jul 2024, chat model 53.1%
- 13
Qwen2.5-72B chat model 52.2%
- 14
Yi-Large chat model 50%
- 15
Llama 3.1-70B chat model 50%
- 16
Qwen2.5-14B chat model 49.4%
- 17
Llama 3-70B chat model 49.2%
- 18
DeepSeek-V2.5 Sep 2024, chat model 47.8%
- 19
Qwen2-72B chat model 47%
- 20
Gemma 2 27B chat model 44.5%
- 21
Phi-3.5-MoE chat model 43.9%
- 22
Gemini 1.5 Pro May 2024, chat model 43.4%
- 23
Gemma 2 9B chat model 41.6%
- 24
Yi-1.5-34B chat model 39.8%
- 25
Phi-3.5-mini chat model 39%
- 26
Qwen2.5-7B chat model 38.6%
- 27
Llama 3.1-8B chat model 37.2%
- 28
Yi-1.5-9B-Chat chat model 35.2%
- 29
Llama 3-8B chat model 32.8%
- 30
Command R+ chat model 32.7%
- 31
Yi-1.5-6B-Chat chat model 32.5%
- 32 c4ai-command-r-08-2024 chat model 31.1%
- 33
Qwen2-7B-Instruct chat model 30.7%
- 34
Gemma 2 2B IT chat model 24.3%
- 35
Mistral 7B v0.3 chat model 24.2%
- 36
Qwen2-1.5B-Instruct chat model 14.3%
- 37
Qwen2-0.5B-Instruct chat model 3.52%
Sources: Labs’ model cards and official KOR-Bench leaderboard
| # | Entry | Score | Setting | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | o1-preview | 72.9% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 2 | o1-mini | 70.2% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 3 | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | 59% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 4 | GPT-4o May 2024 | 58% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 5 | | 55.4% | chat model | Jul 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 6 | | 54.7% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 7 | GPT-4 Turbo Apr 2024 | 53.5% | chat model | Apr 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 8 | | 53.1% | chat model | Jul 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 9 | | 52.2% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 10 | | 50% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 11 | | 50% | chat model | Jul 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 12 | | 49.4% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 13 | | 49.2% | chat model | Apr 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 14 | Doubao-Pro-128k | 48.1% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 15 | | 47.8% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 16 | | 47% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 17 | | 44.5% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 18 | | 43.9% | chat model | Aug 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 19 | | 43.4% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 20 | | 41.6% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 21 | | 39.8% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 22 | Meta-Llama-3.1-405B (base) | 39.7% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 23 | | 39% | chat model | Aug 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 24 | | 38.6% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 25 | Qwen2.5-32B (base) | 37.3% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 26 | Qwen2.5-72B (base) | 37.3% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 27 | | 37.2% | chat model | Jul 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 28 | | 35.2% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 29 | Meta-Llama-3-70B (base) | 35.2% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 30 | Qwen2-72B (base) | 34.3% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 31 | Meta-Llama-3.1-70B (base) | 33.8% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 32 | Gemma-2-27b (base) | 33.4% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 33 | Qwen2.5-14B (base) | 33.3% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 34 | | 32.8% | chat model | Apr 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 35 | | 32.7% | chat model | Aug 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 36 | | 32.5% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 37 | c4ai-command-r-08-2024 | 31.1% | chat model | Aug 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 38 | | 30.7% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 39 | Yi-1.5-34B (base) | 30.1% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 40 | Yi-1.5-9B (base) | 29.2% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 41 | Qwen2.5-7B (base) | 28.8% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 42 | Qwen2-7B (base) | 27.4% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 43 | Meta-Llama-3.1-8B (base) | 26% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 44 | Gemma-2-9b (base) | 25.5% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 45 | Meta-Llama-3-8B (base) | 25% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 46 | | 24.3% | chat model | Jul 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 47 | | 24.2% | chat model | Sep 2023 | Official leaderboard |
| 48 | Mistral-7B-v0.1 (base) | 21.6% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 49 | Yi-1.5-6B (base) | 20.9% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 50 | Qwen2.5-1.5B-Instruct | 20.4% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 51 | OLMo-7B-0724-Instruct-hf | 18.5% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 52 | MAP-Neo-7B-Instruct-v0.1 | 18.2% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 53 | MAP-Neo-7B (base) | 15.6% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 54 | Qwen2.5-1.5B (base) | 15.1% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 55 | OLMo-7B-0724-hf (base) | 14.8% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 56 | | 14.3% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 57 | Gemma-2-2b (base) | 13.2% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 58 | Qwen2-1.5B (base) | 12.3% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 59 | Qwen2-0.5B (base) | 9.92% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 60 | Qwen2.5-0.5B (base) | 9.12% | base model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 61 | Qwen2.5-0.5B-Instruct | 9.04% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 62 | | 3.52% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| # | Model | Score | Setting | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 77.5% | Feb 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 2 | | 76.2% | Dec 2025 | Lab model card | |
| 3 | o1-preview | 72.9% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 4 | | 70.6% | Aug 2025 | Lab model card | |
| 5 | o1-mini | 70.2% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 6 | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | 59% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 7 | GPT-4o May 2024 | 58% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 8 | | 56.4% | Jan 2025 | Lab model card | |
| 9 | | 55.4% | chat model | Jul 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 10 | | 54.7% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 11 | GPT-4 Turbo Apr 2024 | 53.5% | chat model | Apr 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 12 | | 53.1% | chat model | Jul 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 13 | | 52.2% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 14 | | 50% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 15 | | 50% | chat model | Jul 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 16 | | 49.4% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 17 | | 49.2% | chat model | Apr 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 18 | | 47.8% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 19 | | 47% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 20 | | 44.5% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 21 | | 43.9% | chat model | Aug 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 22 | | 43.4% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 23 | | 41.6% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 24 | | 39.8% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 25 | | 39% | chat model | Aug 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 26 | | 38.6% | chat model | Sep 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 27 | | 37.2% | chat model | Jul 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 28 | | 35.2% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 29 | | 32.8% | chat model | Apr 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 30 | | 32.7% | chat model | Aug 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 31 | | 32.5% | chat model | May 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 32 | c4ai-command-r-08-2024 | 31.1% | chat model | Aug 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 33 | | 30.7% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 34 | | 24.3% | chat model | Jul 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 35 | | 24.2% | chat model | Sep 2023 | Official leaderboard |
| 36 | | 14.3% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
| 37 | | 3.52% | chat model | Jun 2024 | Official leaderboard |
Labs report scores for 4 models in their cards. Switch the scores above to rank them together.
Number one over time 3 models have held number one with claims included since its release in October 2024
Lab claims count from the day the card came out, independent runs from the model’s release. We draw one row each for the benchmark’s own leaderboard and what labs claim in their cards.
Sources: Official KOR-Bench leaderboard and labs’ model cards
Scores over time
All the scores we have, one dot each, so a model tested at several settings appears more than once.
Sources: Official KOR-Bench leaderboard and labs’ model cards
Labs headline it less often now, last in February 2026
Launch posts from every lab that has listed it, one tick per post. Tall colored ticks include it, and short gray ones leave it out.
| Date | Launch post | Score | As the post writes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 14, 2026 | 77.5 | KORBench | |
| Dec 18, 2025 | 76.2 | KOR-Bench | |
| Aug 20, 2025 | 70.6 | KORBench | |
| Jan 13, 2025 | 56.4 | KOR-Bench(0-shot) |
2 system cards report it, from 1 lab
Besides launch posts, we read the system cards, model cards and technical reports labs publish with a release. They report far more, including safety and frontier-risk tests.
| Date | Document | Score | As the document writes it | Section |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 2026 | | 76.2 | KOR-Bench (Table 1) | Capabilities |
| Feb 14, 2026 | | 77.5 | KORBench (Table 3). Table 13 prints 77.2 | Capabilities |
More in Science and reasoning
- GPQA Diamond In use 198 graduate-level 'Google-proof' multiple-choice questions in biology, chemistry and physics.
Gemini 4 Carbon 96.5%
- Terminal-Bench-Science In use 70 scientific research-workflow tasks across five science areas, run in Harbor containers. Hidden tests give the resolution rate. GPT-6 Astra 68.1%
- FrontierScience In use Models solve physics, chemistry, and biology problems in an Olympiad track graded by short answer and a Research track graded by 10-point rubrics.
Intern-S2-397B 87%
- BioMysteryBench In use Bioinformatics problems on anonymized real datasets that require real analysis with tools. Rubric-graded, with human-solvable and human-difficult splits. Claude Fable 5.2 83.7%
- HiPhO In use Models solve theory problems from 2024 and 2025 physics olympiad exams, some with diagrams. Official marking schemes grade answers and steps, mapped to medal levels.
Gemini 3 Pro 78.3%
- LABBench2 In use 11 biology research sub-tasks (literature, figures, tables, patents, trials and more) with tool access. Macro-averaged accuracy. GPT-5.2 60.9%