TokenMix Research Lab · 2026-04-25
grok-4-0709: Version Notes and API Access for xAI's Grok 4 (2026)
xAI's grok-4-0709 is the date-stamped API identifier for Grok 4, released mid-2025 as xAI's flagship frontier reasoning model. At $3 input /
TokenMix Research Lab · 2026-04-25
xAI's grok-4-0709 is the date-stamped API identifier for Grok 4, released mid-2025 as xAI's flagship frontier reasoning model. At $3 input /
-0709 identifier means, current API access, competitive positioning, and migration paths as newer versions land. All data verified against xAI's official documentation as of April 2026.
grok-4-0709 is the specific date-stamped identifier for Grok 4. The 0709 indicates July 9 as the version date, consistent with xAI's date-stamping convention for pinning to specific snapshots (similar to how Anthropic uses claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929).
Key attributes:
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Creator | xAI |
| Released | Mid-2025 |
| Model ID | grok-4-0709 |
| Input price | $3.00 / MTok |
| Output price | 5.00 / MTok |
| Knowledge cutoff | November 2024 |
| Tool invocation fees | Extra, $0.003-0.005 per tool call |
| Context window | Varies by config (typically 128K-256K) |
| Multimodal | Vision supported |
| X platform integration | Native (Grok has access to X data) |
Token pricing:
Practical monthly cost examples:
| Workload | Volume | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate use (50M in / 10M out) | 60M | $300 |
| Heavy production (500M in / 100M out) | 600M | $3,000 |
| Enterprise (2B in / 500M out) | 2.5B | 3,500 |
Tool fees on top:
xAI charges per-call fees when Grok invokes built-in tools:
A typical web research query triggers 3-5 search calls, adding $0.015-$0.025 per query in tool fees alone. Budget this separately from token costs.
Cost positioning vs competitors:
Grok 4 is priced in the same tier as Claude Sonnet 4.6 and slightly above GPT-5.4 Standard. Its main differentiators are X platform integration and xAI's specific model characteristics.
Easy to miss but material: xAI bills tool invocations separately from token usage.
Unlike OpenAI (where function calling is typically included in token pricing), xAI's built-in tools carry per-invocation fees:
Budget impact: an agent that does 5 web searches plus code execution per task adds ~$0.02-0.03 per task in tool fees. At 10,000 tasks/month, that's $200-300 extra beyond token costs.
Production implication: if you're doing heavy tool-based workflows with Grok, tool fees can exceed token fees. Monitor and budget separately.
Knowledge cutoff: November 2024. For anything more recent, rely on Grok's web search tool (which triggers fees) or augment with external retrieval.
Context window: varies by API configuration. Grok 4 supports large contexts (up to 256K in some configurations); check docs.x.ai/developers/models/grok-4-0709 for current specification.
grok-4-0709 is accessible via:
api.x.ai) — primary endpointThrough TokenMix.ai, Grok 4 is accessible alongside Claude Opus 4.7, GPT-5.5, DeepSeek V4-Pro, Kimi K2.6, Gemini 3.1 Pro, and 300+ other models through a single OpenAI-compatible API key. Useful for teams comparing Grok 4 against alternatives or routing per task type.
Basic usage:
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
api_key="your-tokenmix-key",
base_url="https://api.tokenmix.ai/v1",
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="grok-4-0709",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Complex reasoning task"}],
)
Note on X platform data access: Grok's native X integration is strongest via xAI's direct API. Aggregator access may or may not pass through X-specific features.
The current Grok family tiers:
| Tier | Input / MTok | Output / MTok | Positioning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grok 4 | $3.00 | 5.00 | Frontier flagship |
| Grok 4 Fast | varies | varies | Speed-optimized |
| Grok 4.1 Fast | $0.20 | $0.50 | Cost-sensitive high-volume |
| Grok 4.2 (beta) | TBD | TBD | Next-gen |
Grok 4.1 Fast at $0.20/$0.50 is a dramatic cost reduction — 15× cheaper input than Grok 4. For high-volume or cost-sensitive workloads, evaluate Grok 4.1 Fast first.
Grok 4.2 entered public beta in 2026. Subject to change; don't build long-term production around beta.
Strong fit:
Weak fit:
xAI's unique selling point: Grok has native access to X platform data in ways other models don't. Use cases:
Caveats: X platform data access has policy constraints (rate limits, content policies). Check xAI's current X integration terms.
For apps built around X data, Grok 4 is often the easiest path. For general reasoning not needing X data, alternatives compete well on cost/capability.
When Grok 4.2 graduates from beta:
Expected improvements:
Migration approach:
grok-4-0709)Through TokenMix.ai, model swap is a config change — test both in parallel without infrastructure rework.
1. Tool fees add unpredictable cost. Budget separately from tokens.
2. Knowledge cutoff is older than some competitors. November 2024 vs some models with early-2025 cutoffs.
3. X integration is its differentiator — and its constraint. If you don't need X data, cheaper or better alternatives exist.
4. Smaller ecosystem than OpenAI/Anthropic. Fewer third-party integrations, community tools, fine-tunes.
5. Closed-weight. No self-hosting option; no fine-tuning on own data.
6. Regional availability varies. xAI's global reach is less mature than OpenAI/Anthropic.
It's a date identifier — July 9 — following xAI's convention of pinning models to specific release snapshots. Similar to Anthropic's date-stamping.
Date-stamped IDs are more stable for reproducibility. Un-dated identifiers may point to different snapshots over time. For production stability, prefer date-stamped.
Only if you need xAI's specific capabilities (X data, specific output style). For general reasoning, GPT-5.4 or Claude Sonnet 4.6 compete strongly at comparable or lower pricing.
Grok 4.1 Fast is the current cost-optimized tier ($0.20/$0.50). For high-volume, use 4.1 Fast. For frontier tasks, use Grok 4.
Yes. xAI's API is independent of X consumer product. You can use Grok 4 for reasoning without any X platform integration.
Yes, via function calling. Plus xAI has built-in tools (web search, code execution, file analysis) with per-invocation fees.
Claude Opus 4.7 ($5/$25) is the frontier reasoning flagship with strong benchmarks. Grok 4 ($3/ 5) is one tier below at better pricing. For absolute frontier, Claude Opus 4.7. For cost-balanced reasoning, Grok 4 competes.
TokenMix.ai provides unified access to grok-4-0709, Grok 4.1 Fast, Claude Opus 4.7, GPT-5.5, DeepSeek V4-Pro, Kimi K2.6, and 300+ others through one API key — direct A/B testing across providers.
No. Grok's weights are proprietary. xAI has not released open-weight versions despite Musk's earlier statements about open-sourcing previous Grok versions.
In public beta as of April 2026; no announced GA date. Monitor xAI's release notes for updates.
Author: TokenMix Research Lab | Last Updated: April 25, 2026 | Data Sources: xAI Models and Pricing docs, xAI Grok 4 0709 docs, xAI Grok API pricing guide, xAI Release Notes April 2026, TokenMix.ai multi-provider Grok access