Gemma 4 12B IT vs Laguna S 2.1 vs MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview
MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview comes out ahead, 66 to 57 and 45 on our weighted score.
GoogleGemma 4 12B IT
57/100- ECI—
- Price$0.075 / $0.275
- Context262K
PoolsideLaguna S 2.1
45/100- ECI—
- Price$0.10 / $0.20
- Context1.05M
- Our pick
MiniMaxMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview
66/100- ECI—
- Price—
- Context1M
MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview is our pick
MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 66/100 against Gemma 4 12B IT (57) and Laguna S 2.1 (45). The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. 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 priceGemma 4 12B IT and Laguna S 2.1Gemma 4 12B IT $0.125 · Laguna S 2.1 $0.125 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview unpriced
- Longest contextLaguna S 2.1Laguna S 2.1 1,048,576 · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview 1,000,000 · Gemma 4 12B IT 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-PreviewGemma 4 12B IT: Text, Images · Laguna S 2.1: Text · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingGemma 4 12B IT and Laguna S 2.1Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Gemma 4 12B IT | Laguna S 2.1 | MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inputs & features | 60% | 70 | 35 | 70 |
| Context window | 40% | 37 | 61 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 57/100 | 45/100 | 66/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability and price. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Gemma 4 12B ITGoogle | Laguna S 2.1Poolside | MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-PreviewMiniMax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.075 (best) | $0.10 | — |
| Output | $0.275 | $0.20 (best) | — |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.125 | $0.125 | — |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | — |
| Price source | Median of 2 providers | Median of 4 providers | — |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 32,768 tokens | 512,000 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | poolside/laguna-s-2.1 | — |
| API providers | 2 | 6 (best) | — |
| Released | Jun 9, 2026 | Jul 21, 2026 | Sep 27, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Gemma 4 12B IT$1.30
- Laguna S 2.1$1.40
- MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview—
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Gemma 4 12B IT, Laguna S 2.1 or MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview?
MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 66/100 against Gemma 4 12B IT (57) and Laguna S 2.1 (45). The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 4 12B IT, Laguna S 2.1 or MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview?
Gemma 4 12B IT is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.275 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). Laguna S 2.1 costs $0.10 input / $0.20 output per million tokens (median across 4 API providers; free on Poolside). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.125 per million tokens for Gemma 4 12B IT versus $0.125 for Laguna S 2.1 (1× as much). MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview has no published per-token price.
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Gemma 4 12B IT has not been scored yet, Laguna S 2.1 has not been scored yet and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 4 12B IT, Laguna S 2.1 and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview 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?
Laguna S 2.1 has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 1,000,000 for MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview and 262,144 for Gemma 4 12B IT. Maximum output per response: Gemma 4 12B IT up to 32,768, Laguna S 2.1 up to 32,768, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview up to 512,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Gemma 4 12B IT accepts text and images; Laguna S 2.1 accepts text; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview accepts text, images and video. MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Gemma 4 12B IT and Laguna S 2.1 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview is proprietary.
Which is newer?
MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview is the newest, released Sep 27, 2026. Laguna S 2.1 came out Jul 21, 2026; Gemma 4 12B IT came out Jun 9, 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 Oct 4, 2026.
