Gemma 4 12B IT vs Laguna XS 2.1 vs Mercury 2.5
Gemma 4 12B IT comes out ahead, 75 to 71 and 68 on our weighted score, though Mercury 2.5 is 46% cheaper per token.
- Our pick
GoogleGemma 4 12B IT
75/100- ECI—
- Price$0.075 / $0.275
- Context262K
PoolsideLaguna XS 2.1
68/100- ECI—
- Price$0.06 / $0.12
- Context262K
InceptionMercury 2.5
71/100- ECI—
- Price$0.04 / $0.15
- Context260K
Gemma 4 12B IT is our pick
Gemma 4 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Mercury 2.5 (71) and Laguna XS 2.1 (68). It leads on inputs & features. 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 priceMercury 2.5Mercury 2.5 $0.068 · Laguna XS 2.1 $0.075 · Gemma 4 12B IT $0.125 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameGemma 4 12B IT 262,144 · Laguna XS 2.1 262,144 · Mercury 2.5 260,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGemma 4 12B ITGemma 4 12B IT: Text, Images · Laguna XS 2.1: Text · Mercury 2.5: Text
- Self-hostingGemma 4 12B IT and Laguna XS 2.1Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Gemma 4 12B IT | Laguna XS 2.1 | Mercury 2.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 93 | 100 | 100 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 35 | 45 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 37 | 36 |
| Overall | 100% | 75/100 | 68/100 | 71/100 |
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 | Gemma 4 12B ITGoogle | Laguna XS 2.1Poolside | Mercury 2.5Inception |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.075 | $0.06 | $0.04 (best) |
| Output | $0.275 | $0.12 (best) | $0.15 |
| Cached input | — | — | $0.004 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.125 | $0.075 | $0.068 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 2 providers | Median of 1 providers | Official Inception API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens (best) | 262,144 tokens (best) | 260,000 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 32,768 tokens | 65,536 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes | Yeslow · medium · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | poolside/laguna-xs-2.1 | mercury-2.5 |
| API providers | 2 | 4 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Jun 9, 2026 | Jul 2, 2026 | Sep 8, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — | Nov 1, 2025 |
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 XS 2.1$0.84
- Mercury 2.5$0.70
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Gemma 4 12B IT, Laguna XS 2.1 or Mercury 2.5?
Gemma 4 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Mercury 2.5 (71) and Laguna XS 2.1 (68). It leads on inputs & features. 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, Gemma 4 12B IT, Laguna XS 2.1 or Mercury 2.5?
Mercury 2.5 is cheaper at $0.04 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (official Inception API price). Laguna XS 2.1 costs $0.06 input / $0.12 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider; free on Poolside); Gemma 4 12B IT costs $0.075 input / $0.275 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.068 per million tokens for Mercury 2.5 versus $0.075 for Laguna XS 2.1 (1.1× as much) and $0.125 for Gemma 4 12B IT (1.9× as much).
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 XS 2.1 has not been scored yet and Mercury 2.5 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 4 12B IT, Laguna XS 2.1 and Mercury 2.5 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?
Their context windows are effectively the same size: Gemma 4 12B IT 262,144, Laguna XS 2.1 262,144 and Mercury 2.5 260,000 tokens. Maximum output per response: Gemma 4 12B IT up to 32,768, Laguna XS 2.1 up to 32,768, Mercury 2.5 up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Gemma 4 12B IT accepts text and images; Laguna XS 2.1 accepts text; Mercury 2.5 accepts text. Gemma 4 12B IT handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Gemma 4 12B IT and Laguna XS 2.1 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Mercury 2.5 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Mercury 2.5 is the newest, released Sep 8, 2026. Laguna XS 2.1 came out Jul 2, 2026; Gemma 4 12B IT came out Jun 9, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Mercury 2.5 Nov 1, 2025.
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.
