GPT-5.4 mini vs Laguna M.1 vs Grok 4.3
Laguna M.1 comes out ahead, 68 to 56 and 49 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
OpenAIGPT-5.4 mini
49/100- ECI148.8
- Price$0.75 / $4.50
- Context400K
- Our pick
PoolsideLaguna M.1
68/100- ECI—
- PriceFree / Free
- Context262K
xAIGrok 4.3
56/100- ECI149.2
- Price$1.25 / $2.50
- Context1M
Laguna M.1 is our pick
Laguna M.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Grok 4.3 (56) and GPT-5.4 mini (49). It leads on price. Grok 4.3 wins on inputs & features and context window. 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 priceLaguna M.1Laguna M.1 Free · Grok 4.3 $1.56 · GPT-5.4 mini $1.69 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGrok 4.3Grok 4.3 1,000,000 · GPT-5.4 mini 400,000 · Laguna M.1 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsGrok 4.3GPT-5.4 mini: Text, Images · Laguna M.1: Text · Grok 4.3: Text, Images, PDFs
- Self-hostingLaguna M.1Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | GPT-5.4 mini | Laguna M.1 | Grok 4.3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 39 | 100 | 41 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 35 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 44 | 37 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 49/100 | 68/100 | 56/100 |
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 | GPT-5.4 miniOpenAI | Laguna M.1Poolside | Grok 4.3xAI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 148.8 | — | 149.2 (best) |
| ECI rank | #56 of 148 | — | #55 of 148 (best) |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 86.9% | — | 88.8% (best) |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics | 51.2% (best) | — | 42.8% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 88.9% | — | 93.3% (best) |
| SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions | 29.4% | — | 33.2% (best) |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.75 | Free (best) | $1.25 |
| Output | $4.50 | Free (best) | $2.50 |
| Cached input | $0.075 (best) | — | $0.20 |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.69 | Free (best) | $1.56 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Over 200K: $2.50 / $5.00 |
| Price source | Official OpenAI API | Official Poolside API | Official xAI API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 400,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 128,000 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens | 30,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yeslow · medium · high · xhigh | Yes | Yeslow · medium · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | gpt-5.4-mini | poolside/laguna-m.1 | grok-4.3 |
| API providers | 29 (best) | 2 | 27 |
| Released | Mar 17, 2026 | Apr 28, 2026 | Apr 17, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Aug 31, 2025 | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- GPT-5.4 mini$16.50
- Laguna M.1Free
- Grok 4.3$17.50
Which should you choose?
Which is better: GPT-5.4 mini, Laguna M.1 or Grok 4.3?
Laguna M.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Grok 4.3 (56) and GPT-5.4 mini (49). It leads on price. Grok 4.3 wins on inputs & features and context window. 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, GPT-5.4 mini, Laguna M.1 or Grok 4.3?
Laguna M.1 is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Poolside API price). Grok 4.3 costs $1.25 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (official xAI API price); GPT-5.4 mini costs $0.75 input / $4.50 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). Laguna M.1 is listed as free.
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. GPT-5.4 mini has an ECI of 148.8, Laguna M.1 has not been scored yet and Grok 4.3 has an ECI of 149.2.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-5.4 mini, Laguna M.1 and Grok 4.3 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?
Grok 4.3 has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 400,000 for GPT-5.4 mini and 262,144 for Laguna M.1. Maximum output per response: GPT-5.4 mini up to 128,000, Laguna M.1 up to 32,768, Grok 4.3 up to 30,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
GPT-5.4 mini accepts text and images; Laguna M.1 accepts text; Grok 4.3 accepts text, images and PDFs. Grok 4.3 handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Laguna M.1 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-5.4 mini and Grok 4.3 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Laguna M.1 is the newest, released Apr 28, 2026. Grok 4.3 came out Apr 17, 2026; GPT-5.4 mini came out Mar 17, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-5.4 mini Aug 31, 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.
