Benchmark Almanac

MLE-bench

GPT-6 Astra 93.8% leads since September 2026
Gemini 3 Pro 64.4% leads since November 2025
GPT-6 Astra 93.8% leads since September 2026
In use

Kaggle-style ML engineering competitions. Agent trains models and is scored against competition leaderboards.

OpenAI runs an internal Revised version with 72 problems. The public leaderboard in the repo README stopped taking submissions on April 24th, 2026. MLE-bench Lite is the 22-competition Low split.

Made by
OpenAI
Released
October 2024
Kind
Machine learning engineering
Level
Expert
Scored
Checked automatically
Answers
Agent task
Tasks
All public
Strongest model tested
GPT-6 Astra #3 on the capability index
Last in a launch post
July 2026
Last model added
September 2026
Scores refreshed
November 12th, 2026

In the authors’ words

We introduce MLE-bench, a benchmark for measuring how well AI agents perform at machine learning engineering. To this end, we curate 75 ML engineering-related competitions from Kaggle, creating a diverse set of challenging tasks that test real-world ML engineering skills such as training models, preparing datasets, and running experiments. We establish human baselines for each competition using Kaggle's publicly available leaderboards. We use open-source agent scaffolds to evaluate several frontier language models on our benchmark, finding that the best-performing setup–OpenAI's o1-preview with AIDE scaffolding–achieves at least the level of a Kaggle bronze medal in 16.9% of competitions. In addition to our main results, we investigate various forms of resource scaling for AI agents and the impact of contamination from pre-training. We open-source our benchmark code (github.com/openai/mle-bench/) to facilitate future research in understanding the ML engineering capabilities of AI agents.

Abstract of MLE-bench: Evaluating Machine Learning Agents on Machine Learning Engineering (arXiv:2410.07095, CC0)
10
Models scored in lab cards
3
Launch posts list it, from 2 labs
16
System cards report it, from 3 labs

GPT-6 Astra leads with 93.8% among models released by September 2026

Best score per model as labs report them in their own cards. Labs pick their own settings, so these compare less cleanly than independent runs.

Gemini 3 Pro leads with 64.4% across all independent runs

Best score per model across the official leaderboard, Epoch AI’s own runs and any board Epoch AI copied. Each bar and row names its source.

GPT-6 Astra leads with 93.8%, 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 2026, and nobody has reported a newer one. Among the 20 highest-ranked models on the capability index, these have no score yet:

  1. 1 GPT-6 Astra 93.8%
  2. 2 MiniMax-M2.7 66.6%
  3. 3 Gemini 3.6 Flash 63.9%
  4. 4 MiniMax-M2.5 51.5%
  5. 5 MiniMax-M2 40%
  6. 6 Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 39.2%
  7. 7 o1 14%
  8. 8 o3-mini 11%
  9. 9 OpenAI deep research 11%
  10. 10 GPT-4.5 11%

Source: Labs’ model cards

#ModelScoreSettingDateSource
1 GPT-6 Astra 93.8% Sep 2026 Lab model card
2 MiniMax-M2.7 66.6% Mar 2026 Lab model card
3 Gemini 3.6 Flash 63.9% Jul 2026 Lab model card
4 MiniMax-M2.5 51.5% May 2026 Lab model card
5 MiniMax-M2 40% May 2026 Lab model card
6 Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 39.2% Jul 2026 Lab model card
7 o1 14% Dec 2024 Lab model card
8 o3-mini 11% Jan 2025 Lab model card
9 OpenAI deep research 11% Feb 2025 Lab model card
10 GPT-4.5 11% Feb 2025 Lab model card
#ModelScoreSettingDateSource
1 Gemini 3 Pro 64.4% Famou-Agent 2.0 Nov 2025 Official leaderboard
2 Claude Opus 4.6 63.1% AIBuildAI Feb 2026 Official leaderboard
3 Gemini 2.5 Pro Jun 2025 59.6% Famou-Agent 2.0 Jun 2025 Official leaderboard
4 DeepSeek-V3.2-Speciale 56.4% ML-Master 2.0 Dec 2025 Official leaderboard
5 GPT-5-Codex 48.4% Thesis Sep 2025 Official leaderboard
6 GPT-5 39.6% low, Operand ensemble Aug 2025 Official leaderboard
7 DeepSeek-R1 May 2025 36.4% 12 h, InternAgent May 2025 Official leaderboard
8 o3 31.6% AIRA-dojo Apr 2025 Official leaderboard
9 o1-preview 22.4% R&D-Agent Sep 2024 Official leaderboard
10 GPT-4o Aug 2024 8.63% AIDE Aug 2024 Official leaderboard
11 Claude 3.5 Sonnet 7.56% AIDE Jun 2024 Official leaderboard
12 Llama 3.1-405B 3.33% AIDE Jul 2024 Official leaderboard
#ModelScoreSettingDateSource
1 GPT-6 Astra 93.8% Sep 2026 Lab model card
2 MiniMax-M2.7 66.6% Mar 2026 Lab model card
3 Gemini 3 Pro 64.4% Famou-Agent 2.0 Nov 2025 Official leaderboard
4 Gemini 3.6 Flash 63.9% Jul 2026 Lab model card
5 Claude Opus 4.6 63.1% AIBuildAI Feb 2026 Official leaderboard
6 Gemini 2.5 Pro Jun 2025 59.6% Famou-Agent 2.0 Jun 2025 Official leaderboard
7 DeepSeek-V3.2-Speciale 56.4% ML-Master 2.0 Dec 2025 Official leaderboard
8 MiniMax-M2.5 51.5% May 2026 Lab model card
9 GPT-5-Codex 48.4% Thesis Sep 2025 Official leaderboard
10 MiniMax-M2 40% May 2026 Lab model card
11 GPT-5 39.6% low, Operand ensemble Aug 2025 Official leaderboard
12 Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 39.2% Jul 2026 Lab model card
13 DeepSeek-R1 May 2025 36.4% 12 h, InternAgent May 2025 Official leaderboard
14 o3 31.6% AIRA-dojo Apr 2025 Official leaderboard
15 o1-preview 22.4% R&D-Agent Sep 2024 Official leaderboard
16 o1 14% Dec 2024 Lab model card
17 o3-mini 11% Jan 2025 Lab model card
18 OpenAI deep research 11% Feb 2025 Lab model card
19 GPT-4.5 11% Feb 2025 Lab model card
20 GPT-4o Aug 2024 8.63% AIDE Aug 2024 Official leaderboard
21 Claude 3.5 Sonnet 7.56% AIDE Jun 2024 Official leaderboard
22 Llama 3.1-405B 3.33% AIDE Jul 2024 Official leaderboard

The benchmark's own leaderboard has 12 models. Switch the scores above to rank them together.

3 models have held number one in labs’ own numbers since its release in October 2024 5 models have held number one across all independent runs since its release in October 2024 7 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.

OpenAI DeepSeek Google DeepMind MiniMax
Own leaderboard Not tested since Feb 2026
Gemini 3 Pro 64.4%
Lab claims Passed 85% in Sep 2026, by GPT-6 Astra
GPT-6 Astra 93.8%

Sources: Official MLE-bench leaderboard and labs’ model cards

OpenAI’s own number for GPT-6 Astra passed 85% in September 2026

All the scores we have, one dot each, so a model tested at several settings appears more than once.

On the benchmark’s own leaderboard Reported by the lab in its model card Best so far
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 2024 2025 2026 Near the ceiling (85%) GPT-6 Astra MiniMax-M2.7 Gemini 2.5 Pro DeepSeek-R1 o3 o1-preview GPT-4o 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 2024 2025 2026 Near the ceiling (85%) GPT-6 Astra MiniMax-M2.7

Sources: Official MLE-bench leaderboard and labs’ model cards

One lab put it in a launch post in the last six months

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.

MiniMax
Google DeepMind
DateLaunch postScoreAs the post writes it
Jul 21, 2026 Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 39.2 MLE-Bench Machine Learning Engineering
Jul 21, 2026 Gemini 3.6 Flash 63.9 MLE-Bench: Machine Learning Engineering
Mar 18, 2026 MiniMax-M2.7 66.6 MLE-Bench lite (medal rate)

16 system cards report it, from 3 labs

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.

DateDocumentScoreAs the document writes itSection
Sep 3, 2026 GPT-6 Astra system card 93.8 MLE-Bench Revised (72 problems), mean reward, max effort, printed chart label (Figure 56) AI R&D risk
Jul 21, 2026 Gemini 3.6 Flash model card 63.9 MLE-Bench (results table, p.4) Capabilities
Jul 21, 2026 Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite model card 39.2 MLE-Bench (results table, p.4) Capabilities
Jul 9, 2026 GPT-5.6 Terra system card MLE-Bench Revised, 72 problems, mean reward by cost and latency, chart without printed numbers (Figures 46, 47, 9.1.3.5) AI R&D risk
Jul 9, 2026 GPT-5.6 Sol system card MLE-Bench Revised, 72 problems, mean reward by cost and latency, chart without printed numbers (Figures 46, 47, 9.1.3.5) AI R&D risk
Jul 9, 2026 GPT-5.6 Luna system card MLE-Bench Revised, 72 problems, mean reward by cost and latency, chart without printed numbers (Figures 46, 47, 9.1.3.5) AI R&D risk
Jun 25, 2026 GPT-5.6 Terra system card MLE-Bench Revised, 72 problems, mean reward by cost and latency, chart without printed numbers (Figures 46, 47, 9.1.3.5) AI R&D risk
Jun 25, 2026 GPT-5.6 Sol system card MLE-Bench Revised, 72 problems, mean reward by cost and latency, chart without printed numbers (Figures 46, 47, 9.1.3.5) AI R&D risk
Jun 25, 2026 GPT-5.6 Luna system card MLE-Bench Revised, 72 problems, mean reward by cost and latency, chart without printed numbers (Figures 46, 47, 9.1.3.5) AI R&D risk
May 26, 2026 MiniMax-M2 technical report 40 MLE-Bench Lite, MiniMax-M2 bar, printed label (Figure 9) AI R&D risk
May 26, 2026 MiniMax-M2.7 technical report 66.6 MLE Bench Lite, medal rate, mean of 3 24-hour trials (22 competitions) (Table 4) AI R&D risk
May 26, 2026 MiniMax-M2.5 technical report 51.5 MLE Bench Lite, medal rate, mean of 3 24-hour trials (22 competitions) (Table 4) AI R&D risk
Feb 27, 2025 GPT-4.5 system card 11 MLE-Bench, 75 Kaggle competitions, AIDE agent, bronze medal rate, post-mitigation (4.6.4) Autonomy
Feb 25, 2025 OpenAI deep research system card 11 MLE-Bench, bronze pass@1, internal tool scaffold, post-mitigation with and without browsing (3.4.7) Autonomy
Jan 31, 2025 o3-mini system card 11 MLE-bench (AIDE), bronze pass@1, o3-mini (Post), pass@10 20%, printed chart label (5.7.4) Autonomy
Dec 5, 2024 o1 system card 14 MLE-bench (AIDE), bronze pass@1, o1 (post-mitigation) (bronze pass@10 24%), printed chart label (5.8.4) AI R&D risk

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