Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch)
Analysis Summary
Inkling Small is Thinking Machines' smaller multimodal model, supporting text, images, and audio with a 524K context window. Tool use and function calling expand its role beyond generation into workflow orchestration, while the context capacity supports large briefs, transcripts, and asset collections. Its pricing is materially lower than premium flagship models, making it attractive for mixed media operations.
Potential agency workloads include transcript-based content production, campaign asset review, brief synthesis, and supervised assistants that need to act through tools. The key limitation is the absence of independent benchmark data for this variant, leaving reasoning, coding, and instruction-following reliability unconfirmed. Batch processing may also be more appropriate than latency-sensitive interactions. Pilot it on multimodal content workflows with quality checks before assigning it high-stakes client communication.
Assessed September 1, 2026
Editorial notes
Inkling Small combines a 524K context window with vision, audio input, tool use, and function calling at moderate pricing. It has no independent benchmark data, so its broad multimodal workflow potential should be validated before adoption.
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DFO Verdict
Inkling Small combines a 524K context window with vision, audio input, tool use, and function calling at moderate pricing. It has no independent benchmark data, so its broad multimodal workflow potential should be validated before adoption.
How Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch) compares
Its 524K-token context window is larger than 77% of the models we list. At $0.50 per million input tokens it is cheaper than 39% of comparable models.
Dark bar = input · light bar = output, scaled to the priciest peer.
1M tokens ≈ 8 full-length novels or ~2,500 pages of business documents in a single request.
Strongest on business fit. The pulled-in technical corner is the trade-off, and if the shape matters more than the price, this is your model.
Compare shapes side-by-side →Pricing
| Token Type | Cost per 1M tokens | Cost per 1K tokens |
|---|---|---|
| Input | $0.50 | $0.000500 |
| Output | $1.20 | $0.001200 |
What would Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch) cost your business?
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A website chatbot handling around 100 customer conversations a day, a few short messages each.
Full calculator with 748 models → Price Calculator
These numbers get smaller with the right architecture.
We route routine calls to cheap models and save Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch) for the hard ones. Most clients cut their estimate by 60-80%.
Talk to our teamAbout Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch)
Inkling Small is an open-weight multimodal mixture-of-experts model from Thinking Machines Lab, with 12B active parameters out of 276B total. It is positioned as the smaller, more efficient member of..
Frequently asked questions about Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch)
How much does Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch) cost?
Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch) costs $0.50 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens.
What is the context window of Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch)?
Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch) has a context window of 524,288 tokens (524K).
What can Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch) do?
Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch) supports image/vision input, tool use, and function calling.
Who created Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch)?
Thinking Machines: Inkling Small (batch) is developed by Thinking Machines and was released on July 30, 2026.