Dynamics of soil moisture (SM) are a key Earth system process, and they help control the storage and movement of water, carbon, and energy throughout the globe. SM representation varies among Earth System Models (ESMs) like those in the 6th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). While surface SM (averaged over the top 10 cm) is similarly defined across models, the vertically layered SM differs due to varying definitions of the soil profile. This inconsistency complicates ESM-based analyses involving vertical SM profiles. In this presentation, we compare the vertically integrated layered SM (mrsol) with surface SM (mrsos) across different CMIP6 models. Our findings reveal that for some models, the integrated mrsol matches mrsos; for others, it matches only in certain grid cells; and for a few, it never matches. These discrepancies impact ESM-based soil moisture studies, highlighting the need for careful consideration when using mrsol or mrsos from model simulations. This work can help advance the understanding of soil moisture and its interactions with the biogeochemical and hydrological cycles in simulations of the Earth system and it highlights the importance of correctly reporting model predictions for model intercomparison.