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Grok 2 vs SmolLM2 1.7B

A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.

Updated

Grok 2 specs · SmolLM2 1.7B specs
Verdict by category
  • PriceTie

    Neither model publishes per-token API pricing.

  • Context windowGrok 2

    Grok 2 accepts 128K tokens vs 8.2K, 15.6× the room for long documents and codebases.

  • BenchmarksTie

    No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.

  • ModalitiesGrok 2

    Grok 2 supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for SmolLM2 1.7B.

  • OpennessSmolLM2 1.7B

    SmolLM2 1.7B ships open weights (Apache-2.0); Grok 2 is API-only.

On balance Grok 2 edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against SmolLM2 1.7B's 1. Neither model publishes per-token API pricing. Grok 2 accepts 128K tokens vs 8.2K, 15.6× the room for long documents and codebases.

No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, Grok 2 handles text, vision while SmolLM2 1.7B handles text, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. SmolLM2 1.7B ships open weights (Apache-2.0); Grok 2 is API-only.

SmolLM2 1.7B is the newer of the two, released 3 months after Grok 2, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Grok 2 is usually picked for chatbots workloads, while SmolLM2 1.7B sees more deployments in on device and edge deployment. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.

Side-by-side specs

SpecGrok 2SmolLM2 1.7B
ProviderxAIOther
ReleasedAug 2024Nov 2024
Modalitiestext, visiontext
Context window128K tokens8.2K tokens
Max output,,
Input · 1MPricing not publishedPricing not published
Output · 1MPricing not publishedPricing not published
Knowledge cutoff,,
Open weightsNoYes (Apache-2.0)
API availableYesNo

Pricing at scale

What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day, vs ,
  • Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day, vs ,
  • RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day, vs ,

Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).

Price calculator

Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • Grok 2Pricing unavailable
  • SmolLM2 1.7BPricing unavailable

Benchmarks compared

Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.

Benchmark scores not yet available. We only publish numbers we can source from official model cards or independent leaderboards, see methodology.
Pick Grok 2 if

Grok 2 fits when…

  • Free on X Premium
  • Real-time data
  • Long-context tasks, handles 128K tokens vs 8.2K for SmolLM2 1.7B.
  • Multimodal needs covering vision.
Pick SmolLM2 1.7B if

SmolLM2 1.7B fits when…

  • Truly tiny
  • Apache-2.0
  • Runs on phones
  • Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (Apache-2.0).
Don't want either?

Consider Grok 4

xAI's mid-2025 flagship, top scores on Humanity's Last Exam at launch, with native real-time X integration.

See Grok 4 specsGrok 2 vs Grok 4SmolLM2 1.7B vs Grok 4

Frequently asked

  • Is Grok 2 or SmolLM2 1.7B cheaper?
    Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.
  • Which has the larger context window?
    Grok 2 accepts 128K tokens vs 8.2K for SmolLM2 1.7B.
  • Is Grok 2 or SmolLM2 1.7B better for coding?
    Both Grok 2 and SmolLM2 1.7B are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.
  • Are either of these models open source?
    SmolLM2 1.7B ships open weights (Apache-2.0). Grok 2 is API-only.
  • When were Grok 2 and SmolLM2 1.7B released?
    Grok 2 was released by xAI on 2024-08-13. SmolLM2 1.7B was released by Other on 2024-11-01.
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