Fugu Ultra v2 vs Fugu Max vs Ember-1
Fugu Max comes out ahead, 46 to 36 and 33 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Sakana AIFugu Ultra v2
33/100- ECI—
- Price$5.00 / $30.00
- Context1M
- Our pickSakana AI
Fugu Max
46/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
Fireworks AIEmber-1
36/100- ECI—
- Price$3.00 / $15.00
- Context1.05M
Fugu Max is our pick
Fugu Max is the better all-round choice, scoring 46/100 against Ember-1 (36) and Fugu Ultra v2 (33). It leads on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceFugu MaxFugu Max $3.00 · Ember-1 $6.00 · Fugu Ultra v2 $11.25 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextEmber-1Ember-1 1,048,576 · Fugu Ultra v2 1,000,000 · Fugu Max 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsFugu Ultra v2 and Fugu MaxFugu Ultra v2: Text, Images, PDFs · Fugu Max: Text, Images, PDFs · Ember-1: Text, Images
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Fugu Ultra v2 | Fugu Max | Ember-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 0 | 26 | 12 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 70 | 60 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 60 | 61 |
| Overall | 100% | 33/100 | 46/100 | 36/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Fugu Ultra v2Sakana AI | Fugu MaxSakana AI | Ember-1Fireworks AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $5.00 | $2.00 (best) | $3.00 |
| Output | $30.00 | $6.00 (best) | $15.00 |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $11.25 | $3.00 (best) | $6.00 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 6 providers | Median of 9 providers | Median of 7 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 128,000 tokens | 128,000 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | Yes | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | — | — |
| API providers | 6 | 9 (best) | 7 |
| Released | Sep 11, 2026 | Sep 11, 2026 | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Aug 28, 2026 | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Fugu Ultra v2$110.00
- Fugu Max$32.00
- Ember-1$60.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Fugu Ultra v2, Fugu Max or Ember-1?
Fugu Max is the better all-round choice, scoring 46/100 against Ember-1 (36) and Fugu Ultra v2 (33). It leads on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Fugu Ultra v2, Fugu Max or Ember-1?
Fugu Max is cheaper at $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers). Ember-1 costs $3.00 input / $15.00 output per million tokens (median across 7 API providers); Fugu Ultra v2 costs $5.00 input / $30.00 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $3.00 per million tokens for Fugu Max versus $6.00 for Ember-1 (2× as much) and $11.25 for Fugu Ultra v2 (3.8× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Fugu Ultra v2 has not been scored yet, Fugu Max has not been scored yet and Ember-1 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Fugu Ultra v2, Fugu Max and Ember-1 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Ember-1 has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 1,000,000 for Fugu Ultra v2 and 1,000,000 for Fugu Max. Maximum output per response: Fugu Ultra v2 up to 128,000, Fugu Max up to 128,000, Ember-1 up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Fugu Ultra v2 accepts text, images and PDFs; Fugu Max accepts text, images and PDFs; Ember-1 accepts text and images. Fugu Ultra v2 handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Fugu Ultra v2, Fugu Max and Ember-1 are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Ember-1 is the newest, released Sep 22, 2026. Fugu Ultra v2 came out Sep 11, 2026; Fugu Max came out Sep 11, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Fugu Ultra v2 Aug 28, 2026.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.
