OpenAI MRCR v2
Models read a long synthetic chat that hides 2, 4 or 8 identical writing requests and must reproduce the response to the i-th one. Scored by mean string match ratio per context bin.
The December 5th, 2025 fix replaced about 10% of samples that held too many needles and about 5% with wrong ground truth. OpenAI calls the result version 2 from GPT-5.2 on, and Anthropic system cards use the same name.
- Made by
- OpenAI
- Released
- December 2025
- Kind
- Finding facts in long inputs
- Level
- Everyday
- Scored
- Checked automatically
- Answers
- Short answer
- Tasks
- All public
- Strongest model tested
- GPT-6 Astra #3 on the capability index
- Last in a launch post
- October 2026
- Last model added
- October 2026
- Scores refreshed
- November 12th, 2026
Gemini 3.7 Flash leads with 89% among models released by August 2026
Best score per entry from Context Arena’s leaderboard, read on November 12th, 2026. Where a model ran with several settings or harnesses, we keep its best. Every run is in the next chart. Names in gray aren't in our model list: fine-tunes, agent systems, products and older models. They don't count toward leaders.
GPT-6 Astra leads with 100%, 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 August 2026, 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 12 more
- 89.0
Gemini 3.7 Flash
- 83.5 GPT-5.6 Sol
- 75.3 GPT-5.5
- 73.9
Gemini 3.6 Flash
- 72.7 Claude Sonnet 4.6
- 71.8 Claude Opus 4.6
- 71.2
Qwen 3.8 Max
- 67.9 GPT-5.6 Terra
- 65.6 Claude Opus 5
- 61.8 Claude Opus 4.8
- 60.1 GLM-5.3-Flash
- 59.0
Muse Spark 1.2
- 57.8 GLM-5.3
- 54.6
Gemini 3.5 Flash
- 52.7 GPT-5.4
- 52.7
Muse Spark 1.1
- 52.2 Claude Sonnet 5
- 47.7 Grok 4.6
- 47.4
Gemini 3.1 Pro
- 46.5 GLM-5.2
- 45.1 GPT-5.6 Luna
- 44.9
Gemini 3 Flash
- 44.5
Qwen3.7-Max
- 44.5
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731
- 43.1
Qwen3.7 Flash
- 41.0
Qwen 3.6 Plus
- 40.3
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
- 38.9
DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813
- 38.1
Qwen 3.6 Flash
- 34.8 Kimi K3
- 33.2
DeepSeek-V4-Pro
- 33.0 GPT-5.4 Nano
- 31.3
DeepSeek-V4-Flash
- 29.7
Qwen3.5-Plus
- 28.3 GPT-5.4 Mini
- 28.0 MiMo-V2.5
- 23.5 MiMo-V2-Pro
- 22.5
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
- 20.3
Qwen3.5-Flash
- 18.7 pokee/pokee-isaac
- 18.6 MiMo-V2.5-Pro
- 18.6
MiniMax-M3
- 15.9 Grok 4.20
- 14.4
Solar Pro 4
- 10.0
Inkling-Small
- 6.64 Grok 4.3
- 4.49
Laguna S 2.1
- 2.74 Claude Opus 4.7
- 1
Gemini 3.7 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 89%
- 2 GPT-5.6 Sol 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 83.5%
- 3 GPT-5.5 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 75.3%
- 4
Gemini 3.6 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 73.9%
- 5 Claude Sonnet 4.6 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning 72.7%
- 6 Claude Opus 4.6 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning 71.8%
- 7
Qwen 3.8 Max 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning 71.2%
- 8 GPT-5.6 Terra 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 67.9%
- 9 Claude Opus 5 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 65.6%
- 10 Claude Opus 4.8 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 61.8%
- 11 GLM-5.3-Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning 60.1%
- 12
Muse Spark 1.2 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 59%
- 13 GLM-5.3 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 57.8%
- 14
Gemini 3.5 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 54.6%
- 15 GPT-5.4 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning 52.7%
- 16
Muse Spark 1.1 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning 52.7%
- 17 Claude Sonnet 5 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 52.2%
- 18 Grok 4.6 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning 47.7%
- 19
Gemini 3.1 Pro 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 47.4%
- 20 GLM-5.2 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 46.5%
- 21 GPT-5.6 Luna 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 45.1%
- 22
Gemini 3 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 44.9%
- 23
Qwen3.7-Max 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 44.5%
- 24
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 44.5%
- 25
Qwen3.7 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 43.1%
- 26
Qwen 3.6 Plus 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 41%
- 27
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning 40.3%
- 28
DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 38.9%
- 29
Qwen 3.6 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 38.1%
- 30 Kimi K3 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 34.8%
- 31
DeepSeek-V4-Pro 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 33.2%
- 32 GPT-5.4 Nano 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning 33%
- 33
DeepSeek-V4-Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 31.3%
- 34
Qwen3.5-Plus 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 29.7%
- 35 GPT-5.4 Mini 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 28.3%
- 36 MiMo-V2.5 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 28%
- 37 MiMo-V2-Pro 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 23.5%
- 38
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 22.5%
- 39
Qwen3.5-Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 20.3%
- 40 pokee/pokee-isaac 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 18.7%
- 41 MiMo-V2.5-Pro 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 18.6%
- 42
MiniMax-M3 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 18.6%
- 43 Grok 4.20 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 15.9%
- 44
Solar Pro 4 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 14.4%
- 45
Inkling-Small 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning 10%
- 46 Grok 4.3 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 6.64%
- 47
Laguna S 2.1 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 4.49%
- 48 Claude Opus 4.7 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning 2.74%
Source: Context Arena’s leaderboard
- 100.0 GPT-6 Astra
- 94.4
K-EXAONE 2.0
- 91.5 GPT-5.6 Sol
- 89.6 GPT-5.6 Terra
- 89.0
Gemini 3.7 Flash
- 87.5 GPT-5.5
- 83.5
DeepSeek-V4-Pro
- 79.3 GPT-5.4
- 77.0 GPT-5.2
- 73.9
Gemini 3.6 Flash
- 72.7 Claude Sonnet 4.6
- 71.8 Claude Opus 4.6
- 71.2
Qwen 3.8 Max
- 65.6 Claude Opus 5
- 61.8 Claude Opus 4.8
- 60.1 GLM-5.3-Flash
- 60.0
MAI-Thinking-1
- 59.0
Muse Spark 1.2
- 57.8 GLM-5.3
- 54.6
Gemini 3.5 Flash
- 52.7
Muse Spark 1.1
- 52.3
K-EXAONE
- 52.2 Claude Sonnet 5
- 47.7 Grok 4.6
- 47.7 GPT-5.4 Mini
- 47.4
Gemini 3.1 Pro
- 46.5 GLM-5.2
- 45.8
Spark-X2.6-4B
- 45.1 GPT-5.6 Luna
- 44.9
Gemini 3 Flash
- 44.5
Qwen3.7-Max
- 44.5
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731
- 44.2 GPT-5.4 Nano
- 43.1
Qwen3.7 Flash
- 41.0
Qwen 3.6 Plus
- 40.3
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
- 38.9
DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813
- 38.1
Qwen 3.6 Flash
- 34.8 Kimi K3
- 31.3
DeepSeek-V4-Flash
- 29.7
Qwen3.5-Plus
- 28.0 MiMo-V2.5
- 23.5 MiMo-V2-Pro
- 22.5
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite
- 20.3
Qwen3.5-Flash
- 18.6 MiMo-V2.5-Pro
- 18.6
MiniMax-M3
- 15.9 Grok 4.20
- 14.4
Solar Pro 4
- 10.0
Inkling-Small
- 6.64 Grok 4.3
- 4.49
Laguna S 2.1
- 2.74 Claude Opus 4.7
- 1 GPT-6 Astra 100%
- 2
K-EXAONE 2.0 94.4%
- 3 GPT-5.6 Sol 91.5%
- 4 GPT-5.6 Terra 89.6%
- 5
Gemini 3.7 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 89%
- 6 GPT-5.5 87.5%
- 7
DeepSeek-V4-Pro 83.5%
- 8 GPT-5.4 79.3%
- 9 GPT-5.2 77%
- 10
Gemini 3.6 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 73.9%
- 11 Claude Sonnet 4.6 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning 72.7%
- 12 Claude Opus 4.6 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning 71.8%
- 13
Qwen 3.8 Max 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning 71.2%
- 14 Claude Opus 5 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 65.6%
- 15 Claude Opus 4.8 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 61.8%
- 16 GLM-5.3-Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning 60.1%
- 17
MAI-Thinking-1 60%
- 18
Muse Spark 1.2 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 59%
- 19 GLM-5.3 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 57.8%
- 20
Gemini 3.5 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 54.6%
- 21
Muse Spark 1.1 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning 52.7%
- 22
K-EXAONE 52.3%
- 23 Claude Sonnet 5 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 52.2%
- 24 Grok 4.6 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning 47.7%
- 25 GPT-5.4 Mini 47.7%
- 26
Gemini 3.1 Pro 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 47.4%
- 27 GLM-5.2 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 46.5%
- 28
Spark-X2.6-4B 45.8%
- 29 GPT-5.6 Luna 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 45.1%
- 30
Gemini 3 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 44.9%
- 31
Qwen3.7-Max 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 44.5%
- 32
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 44.5%
- 33 GPT-5.4 Nano 44.2%
- 34
Qwen3.7 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 43.1%
- 35
Qwen 3.6 Plus 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 41%
- 36
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning 40.3%
- 37
DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 38.9%
- 38
Qwen 3.6 Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 38.1%
- 39 Kimi K3 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning 34.8%
- 40
DeepSeek-V4-Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 31.3%
- 41
Qwen3.5-Plus 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 29.7%
- 42 MiMo-V2.5 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 28%
- 43 MiMo-V2-Pro 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 23.5%
- 44
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning 22.5%
- 45
Qwen3.5-Flash 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 20.3%
- 46 MiMo-V2.5-Pro 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 18.6%
- 47
MiniMax-M3 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 18.6%
- 48 Grok 4.20 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 15.9%
- 49
Solar Pro 4 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 14.4%
- 50
Inkling-Small 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning 10%
- 51 Grok 4.3 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin 6.64%
- 52
Laguna S 2.1 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning 4.49%
- 53 Claude Opus 4.7 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning 2.74%
Sources: Labs’ model cards and Context Arena’s leaderboard
| # | Entry | Score | Setting | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 89% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 2 | GPT-5.6 Sol | 83.5% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 3 | GPT-5.5 | 75.3% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 4 | | 73.9% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 5 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | 72.7% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 6 | Claude Opus 4.6 | 71.8% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 7 | | 71.2% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 8 | GPT-5.6 Terra | 67.9% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 9 | Claude Opus 5 | 65.6% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 10 | Claude Opus 4.8 | 61.8% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | May 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 11 | GLM-5.3-Flash | 60.1% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 12 | | 59% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 13 | GLM-5.3 | 57.8% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 14 | | 54.6% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | May 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 15 | GPT-5.4 | 52.7% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | Mar 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 16 | | 52.7% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 17 | Claude Sonnet 5 | 52.2% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jun 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 18 | Grok 4.6 | 47.7% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 19 | | 47.4% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 20 | GLM-5.2 | 46.5% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jun 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 21 | GPT-5.6 Luna | 45.1% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 22 | | 44.9% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Dec 2025 | Official leaderboard |
| 23 | | 44.5% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | May 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 24 | | 44.5% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 25 | | 43.1% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 26 | | 41% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Mar 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 27 | | 40.3% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 28 | | 38.9% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 29 | | 38.1% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 30 | Kimi K3 | 34.8% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 31 | | 33.2% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 32 | GPT-5.4 Nano | 33% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | Mar 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 33 | | 31.3% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 34 | | 29.7% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 35 | GPT-5.4 Mini | 28.3% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Mar 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 36 | MiMo-V2.5 | 28% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 37 | MiMo-V2-Pro | 23.5% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Mar 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 38 | | 22.5% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Mar 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 39 | | 20.3% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 40 | pokee/pokee-isaac | 18.7% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Official leaderboard | |
| 41 | MiMo-V2.5-Pro | 18.6% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 42 | | 18.6% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Jun 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 43 | Grok 4.20 | 15.9% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 44 | | 14.4% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 45 | | 10% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 46 | Grok 4.3 | 6.64% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 47 | | 4.49% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 48 | Claude Opus 4.7 | 2.74% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| # | Model | Score | Setting | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GPT-6 Astra | 100% | Sep 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 2 | | 94.4% | Jul 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 3 | GPT-5.6 Sol | 91.5% | Jul 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 4 | GPT-5.6 Terra | 89.6% | Jul 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 5 | | 89% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 6 | GPT-5.5 | 87.5% | Apr 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 7 | | 83.5% | Apr 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 8 | GPT-5.4 | 79.3% | Mar 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 9 | GPT-5.2 | 77% | Dec 2025 | Lab model card | |
| 10 | | 73.9% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 11 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | 72.7% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 12 | Claude Opus 4.6 | 71.8% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 13 | | 71.2% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 14 | Claude Opus 5 | 65.6% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 15 | Claude Opus 4.8 | 61.8% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | May 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 16 | GLM-5.3-Flash | 60.1% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 17 | | 60% | Jun 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 18 | | 59% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 19 | GLM-5.3 | 57.8% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 20 | | 54.6% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | May 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 21 | | 52.7% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 22 | | 52.3% | Dec 2025 | Lab model card | |
| 23 | Claude Sonnet 5 | 52.2% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jun 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 24 | Grok 4.6 | 47.7% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 25 | GPT-5.4 Mini | 47.7% | Mar 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 26 | | 47.4% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 27 | GLM-5.2 | 46.5% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jun 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 28 | | 45.8% | Oct 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 29 | GPT-5.6 Luna | 45.1% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 30 | | 44.9% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Dec 2025 | Official leaderboard |
| 31 | | 44.5% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | May 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 32 | | 44.5% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 33 | GPT-5.4 Nano | 44.2% | Mar 2026 | Lab model card | |
| 34 | | 43.1% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 35 | | 41% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Mar 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 36 | | 40.3% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 37 | | 38.9% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 38 | | 38.1% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 39 | Kimi K3 | 34.8% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 40 | | 31.3% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 41 | | 29.7% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 42 | MiMo-V2.5 | 28% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 43 | MiMo-V2-Pro | 23.5% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Mar 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 44 | | 22.5% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | Mar 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 45 | | 20.3% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 46 | MiMo-V2.5-Pro | 18.6% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 47 | | 18.6% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Jun 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 48 | Grok 4.20 | 15.9% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Feb 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 49 | | 14.4% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Aug 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 50 | | 10% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 51 | Grok 4.3 | 6.64% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 52 | | 4.49% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | Jul 2026 | Official leaderboard |
| 53 | Claude Opus 4.7 | 2.74% | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | Apr 2026 | Official leaderboard |
Labs report scores for 14 models in their cards. Switch the scores above to rank them together.
More effort adds a median 6 points
Models the leaderboard ran at two or more effort levels. We don’t have enough cost data here to say what the extra effort costs.
Source: Context Arena’s leaderboard
| Model | Effort | Harness | Score | Cost per task | Output tokens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 89% | |||
| GPT-5.6 Sol | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 83.5% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 82.1% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 79.5% | |||
| GPT-5.5 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 75.3% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 73.9% | |||
| GPT-5.5 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | 73.2% | |||
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 72.7% | |||
| GPT-5.5 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 71.9% | |||
| Claude Opus 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 71.8% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 71.2% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 70.5% | |||
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 69.3% | |||
| Claude Opus 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 69.1% | |||
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 68.5% | |||
| Claude Opus 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 68.5% | |||
| GPT-5.6 Terra | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 67.9% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | 67.7% | |||
| GPT-5.5 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 67% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 66.4% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 65.7% | |||
| Claude Opus 5 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 65.6% | |||
| Claude Opus 4.8 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 61.8% | |||
| GLM-5.3-Flash | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 60.1% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 59% | |||
| GLM-5.3 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 57.8% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 55.8% | |||
| GLM-5.3 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 55.8% | |||
| GLM-5.3-Flash | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 55.6% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 54.6% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | 52.8% | |||
| GPT-5.4 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 52.7% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning | 52.7% | |||
| GLM-5.3 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 52.5% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 52.2% | |||
| Claude Sonnet 5 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 52.2% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning | 52.2% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 51.3% | |||
| GPT-5.4 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 51.2% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 49.1% | |||
| GLM-5.3-Flash | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 48.6% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 48% | |||
| GPT-5.4 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | 47.8% | |||
| Grok 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | 47.7% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 47.4% | |||
| Grok 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 46.8% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | 46.7% | |||
| GLM-5.2 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 46.5% | |||
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 46.1% | |||
| Grok 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 45.8% | |||
| GPT-5.6 Luna | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 45.1% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 44.9% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 44.5% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 44.5% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 44.1% | |||
| GPT-5.4 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 43.4% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 43.1% | |||
| Grok 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 41.8% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 41.7% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 41% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 40.3% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 40.1% | |||
| Claude Opus 4.6 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 40% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 39.8% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 39.6% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 39.6% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 39% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 38.9% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 38.1% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 37.6% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 36.1% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 35.8% | |||
| Kimi K3 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 34.8% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning | 34.2% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 34.1% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 33.2% | |||
| GPT-5.4 Nano | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | 33% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 31.3% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 29.7% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 29.5% | |||
| Kimi K3 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 29.4% | |||
| GPT-5.4 Mini | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 28.3% | |||
| MiMo-V2.5 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 28% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 27.7% | |||
| GPT-5.5 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 27.5% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 27.5% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 26.4% | |||
| GPT-5.4 Nano | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 26.3% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 26% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 25.9% | |||
| GPT-5.4 Mini | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | 25.2% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 24.7% | |||
| MiMo-V2-Pro | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 23.5% | |||
| MiMo-V2.5 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 23.4% | |||
| GPT-5.4 Mini | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 23% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 22.6% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 22.5% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 22.4% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 22.1% | |||
| Kimi K3 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 21.8% | |||
| MiMo-V2-Pro | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 21.5% | |||
| GPT-5.4 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 20.9% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 20.4% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 20.3% | |||
| GPT-5.4 Nano | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 20.2% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 20% | |||
| MiMo-V2.5-Pro | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 18.6% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 18.6% | |||
| GPT-5.4 Mini | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 18.1% | |||
| MiMo-V2.5-Pro | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 17% | |||
| GPT-5.4 Nano | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 16.9% | |||
| Grok 4.20 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 15.9% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning | 15% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 14.4% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 13.2% | |||
| GPT-5.4 Mini | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 12.2% | |||
| Grok 4.20 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 10.4% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, minimal reasoning | 10% | |||
| GPT-5.4 Nano | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 9.81% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 8.22% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 8.17% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 7.55% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | 7.52% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 6.85% | |||
| Grok 4.3 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 6.64% | |||
| | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | 4.49% | |||
| Claude Opus 4.7 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | 2.74% | |||
| Claude Opus 4.7 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | 2.16% | |||
| Claude Opus 4.7 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, low reasoning | 1.97% | |||
| Claude Opus 4.7 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | 1.43% | |||
| Claude Opus 4.7 | 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin | 1.24% |
6 models have held number one on Context Arena’s leaderboard since its release in December 2025 6 models have held number one with claims included since its release in December 2025
Lab claims count from the day the card came out, independent runs from the model’s release. We draw one row each for Context Arena’s leaderboard and what labs claim in their cards.
Sources: Context Arena’s leaderboard and labs’ model cards
OpenAI’s own number for GPT-5.5 passed 85% in April 2026
All the scores we have, one dot each, so a model tested at several settings appears more than once.
Sources: Context Arena’s leaderboard and labs’ model cards
3 labs 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.
| Date | Launch post | Score | As the post writes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 22, 2026 | 45.8 | Mean of Openai_MRCR v2 256k-512k 65.6 / 512k-1M 26.0 | |
| Sep 3, 2026 | GPT-6 Astra | 100 | OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 256K-512K 100.0% (512K-1M 96.3%) |
| Jul 31, 2026 | 94.4 | OpenAI-MRCR (bins up to 128K, macro-average) | |
| Jul 9, 2026 | GPT-5.6 Luna | 41.3 | OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 256K-512K 41.3 (512K-1M 41.3) |
| Jul 9, 2026 | GPT-5.6 Terra | 89.6 | OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 256K-512K 89.6 (512K-1M 72.5) |
| Jul 9, 2026 | GPT-5.6 Sol | 91.5 | OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 256K-512K 91.5% (512K-1M 73.8%) |
| Apr 23, 2026 | GPT-5.5 | 87.5 | OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 128K-256K 87.5% (512K-1M 74.0%) |
| Mar 17, 2026 | GPT-5.4 Nano | 44.2 | OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 64K-128K |
| Mar 17, 2026 | GPT-5.4 Mini | 47.7 | OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle, 64K-128K |
| Mar 5, 2026 | GPT-5.4 | 79.3 | OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 128K-256K (36.6% at 512K-1M) |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 52.3 | OpenAI-MRCR | |
| Dec 11, 2025 | GPT-5.2 | 77 | OpenAI MRCRv2, 8 needles (128k–256k bin) |
5 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.
| Date | Document | Score | As the document writes it | Section |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 2026 | | 60 | OpenAI MRCR, avg_similarity@256K (Appendix J.3 text) | Capabilities |
| Apr 26, 2026 | | 83.5 | MRCR 1M (MMR), OpenAI MRCR, DS-V4-Pro Max (Table 6). Figure 9 prints 8-needle MMR by context length | Capabilities |
| Apr 16, 2026 | Claude Opus 4.7 system card | OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle, Mean Match Ratio at max effort, no overall: 256k 59.2, 1M 32.2, printed on charts (8.7.2, Figures 8.7.2.A and B) | Capabilities | |
| Feb 17, 2026 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 system card | OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle, Mean Match Ratio, 256K 90.3 and 1M 65.8 at max effort (90.6 and 65.1 at 64k thinking), no overall (Table 2.16.A) | Capabilities | |
| Feb 5, 2026 | Claude Opus 4.6 system card | OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle, Mean Match Ratio, 256K 93.0 and 1M 76.0 at max effort (91.9 and 78.3 at 64k thinking), no overall (Table 2.18.A) | Capabilities |
The lab's number comes out ahead in 7 of 8 pairs that differ
Each score a lab reported for its own model, beside the same model's best score on the leaderboard. Gaps mostly come from different harnesses, effort levels and task subsets. Every benchmark.
| Model | Lab says | Board says | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| | 83.5% MRCR 1M (MMR), OpenAI MRCR, DS-V4-Pro Max (Table 6). Figure 9 prints 8-needle MMR by context length | 33.2% Leaderboard, 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, enabled reasoning | +50 pts |
| GPT-5.4 | 79.3% OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 128K-256K (36.6% at 512K-1M) | 52.7% Leaderboard, 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, medium reasoning | +27 pts |
| GPT-5.6 Terra | 89.6% OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 256K-512K 89.6 (512K-1M 72.5) | 67.9% Leaderboard, 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | +22 pts |
| GPT-5.4 Mini | 47.7% OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle, 64K-128K | 28.3% Leaderboard, 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | +19 pts |
| GPT-5.5 | 87.5% OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 128K-256K 87.5% (512K-1M 74.0%) | 75.3% Leaderboard, 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, high reasoning | +12 pts |
| GPT-5.4 Nano | 44.2% OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 64K-128K | 33% Leaderboard, 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, xhigh reasoning | +11 pts |
| GPT-5.6 Sol | 91.5% OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 256K-512K 91.5% (512K-1M 73.8%) | 83.5% Leaderboard, 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | +8.0 pts |
| GPT-5.6 Luna | 41.3% OpenAI MRCR v2 8-needle 256K-512K 41.3 (512K-1M 41.3) | 45.1% Leaderboard, 8-needle, 128K to 256K bin, max reasoning | −3.8 pts |
Versions
We switch the top row to each new version when it comes out. Open it for one row per version. An old version stays in play while people still test it, so whoever first takes it past 85% gets credit for closing it out.
Sources: Official leaderboards and labs’ model cards
More in Long context
- MRCR v2 In use Multi-round coreference: retrieve the n-th of several similar requests hidden in a long synthetic conversation, up to 1M tokens.
Muse Spark 1.3 98.5%
- LongBench v2 In use 503 multiple-choice questions over 8K-2M-word contexts (QA, dialogue, code repos, structured data). Accuracy.
Inkling 2 Small 70.6%
- GraphWalks In use A graph is given as an edge list in long context. The model answers BFS or parent queries, scored by F1. Claude Fable 5 99.96%
- CL-bench In use Model must learn new knowledge from a supplied long context (rules, procedures, data) and solve tasks. Strict LLM-verified rubrics. GPT-5.4 27.9%
- AA-LCR 1.1 In use Models answer 100 questions that need reasoning across sets of real documents of about 100K tokens. An LLM equality checker with a fixed system prompt compares each answer with the key.
Step 5 Preview 88.3%
- LOCA-Bench In use Agentic tasks whose environment state is scaled to grow context length while task semantics stay fixed. Success rate versus context length. GPT-5.2 21.3%