xAI launches Grok4 Fast with 98% price drop

xAI debuts Grok4 Fast, a quicker, cheaper variant matching Grok4’s performance, using 40% fewer reasoning tokens and cutting price by 98%, plus web/X search.

Headline

xAI unveils Grok4 Fast with 98% price cut

Overview of the Grok4 launch

Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI has introduced Grok4 Fast, a speed-optimized and lower-cost version of its flagship Grok4 model.

Performance and pricing of Grok4

Built on the same infrastructure that powers xAI’s most advanced systems, Grok 4 Fast is already reshaping cost/performance charts across the AI ecosystem, as shown in new analyses by researchers such as University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business Professor Ethan Mollick and third-party AI benchmarking firm Artificial Analysis.

According to the company, Grok4 Fast delivers performance on par with Grok4 while consuming 40% fewer reasoning tokens and reducing price by 98%.

• Parity-level performance with Grok4
• Uses 40% fewer reasoning tokens
• 98% price reduction aimed at broader access

Features and use cases of Grok4

The model targets both enterprise and consumer scenarios, supporting tasks that benefit from speed and cost efficiency.

• Code generation and iteration
• Rapid information lookups
• Built-in web search and X (formerly Twitter) search

Architecture and approach

xAI says Grok4 Fast uses a unified architecture that combines reasoning and non-reasoning pathways, allowing the system to switch between deeper analytical responses and instant answers based on context. This strategy mirrors approaches cited in rival systems such as OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Anthropic’s Claude Opus.

The roadmap

The company plans further enhancements to the Grok lineup, including multimodal features and agentic AI. xAI says future updates will be guided by user feedback gathered on X.

Context and recent developments

The launch follows a series of rapid updates to Grok. Recently, Musk said he believes xAI now has a credible path to artificial general intelligence, stating that Grok 5 could be capable of achieving AGI.

Safety and governance

The optimism arrives amid heightened scrutiny of Grok’s safety and behaviour. The chatbot has faced criticism for generating offensive or misleading content during testing, including extremist remarks, and for the sexually suggestive presentation of its avatar, Ani. xAI has apologized for what it called the model’s “horrific behaviour,” said it has implemented fixes, and announced plans for a child-friendly version of Grok.

The bottom line

With Grok4 Fast, xAI is aiming to broaden access to higher-quality reasoning while competing on speed and cost, even as it works to address ongoing concerns about content safety and model governance.