ZMIME
Comparison · 3 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

GPT-5.4 mini vs Laguna M.1 vs North Small Translate

Laguna M.1 comes out ahead, 68 to 50 and 49 on our weighted score.

  1. OpenAI

    GPT-5.4 mini

    Released Mar 17, 2026

    49/100
    • ECI148.8
    • Price$0.75 / $4.50
    • Context400K
  2. Our pick

    Poolside

    Laguna M.1

    Released Apr 28, 2026

    68/100
    • ECI—
    • PriceFree / Free
    • Context262K
  3. Cohere

    North Small Translate

    Released Sep 9, 2026

    50/100
    • ECI—
    • PriceFree / Free
    • Context16K
01 — Verdict

Laguna M.1 is our pick

Laguna M.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against North Small Translate (50) and GPT-5.4 mini (49). GPT-5.4 mini 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.1 and North Small TranslateLaguna M.1 Free · North Small Translate Free · GPT-5.4 mini $1.69 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-5.4 miniGPT-5.4 mini 400,000 · Laguna M.1 262,144 · North Small Translate 16,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGPT-5.4 miniGPT-5.4 mini: Text, Images · Laguna M.1: Text · North Small Translate: Text
  • Self-hostingLaguna M.1 and North Small TranslatePublishes downloadable weights (CC-BY-NC-4.0)
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGPT-5.4 miniLaguna M.1North Small Translate
Price50%39100100
Inputs & features30%70350
Context window20%44370
Overall100%49/10068/10050/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

GPT-5.4 mini vs Laguna M.1 vs North Small Translate specifications side by side
SpecificationGPT-5.4 miniOpenAILaguna M.1PoolsideNorth Small TranslateCohere
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)148.8——
ECI rank#56 of 148——
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions86.9%——
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics51.2%——
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics88.9%——
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions29.4%——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.75Free (best)Free (best)
Output$4.50Free (best)Free (best)
Cached input$0.075——
Blended (3:1)$1.69Free (best)Free (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial OpenAI APIOfficial Poolside APIOfficial Cohere API
Limits
Context window400,000 tokens (best)262,144 tokens16,000 tokens
Max output128,000 tokens (best)32,768 tokens16,000 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYesYes
ImagesYesNoNo
PDFsNoNoNo
AudioNoNoNo
VideoNoNoNo
ReasoningYeslow · medium · high · xhighYesNo
Tool callingYesYesNo
Structured outputYesNoNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryOpenOpenCC-BY-NC-4.0
API model IDgpt-5.4-minipoolside/laguna-m.1north-small-translate-09-2026
API providers29 (best)21
ReleasedMar 17, 2026Apr 28, 2026Sep 9, 2026
Knowledge cutoffAug 31, 2025——
03 — Cost

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
  • North Small TranslateFree
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GPT-5.4 mini, Laguna M.1 or North Small Translate?

Laguna M.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against North Small Translate (50) and GPT-5.4 mini (49). GPT-5.4 mini 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 North Small Translate?

Laguna M.1 is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Poolside API price). North Small Translate costs Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Cohere 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 North Small Translate has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-5.4 mini, Laguna M.1 and North Small Translate yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that North Small Translate does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.

Which has the bigger context window?

GPT-5.4 mini has the largest context window at 400,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Laguna M.1 and 16,000 for North Small Translate. Maximum output per response: GPT-5.4 mini up to 128,000, Laguna M.1 up to 32,768, North Small Translate up to 16,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GPT-5.4 mini accepts text and images; Laguna M.1 accepts text; North Small Translate accepts text. GPT-5.4 mini handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Laguna M.1 and North Small Translate publishes its weights (CC-BY-NC-4.0) and can be self-hosted; GPT-5.4 mini is proprietary.

Which is newer?

North Small Translate is the newest, released Sep 9, 2026. Laguna M.1 came out Apr 28, 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.