Laguna S 2.1 vs Seed Character vs Gemma 4 12B IT
Too close to call on our weighted score (Seed Character 75, Gemma 4 12B IT 75, Laguna S 2.1 69). The right pick depends on what you value most.
PoolsideLaguna S 2.1
69/100- ECI—
- Price$0.10 / $0.20
- Context1.05M
ByteDance SeedSeed Character
75/100- ECI—
- Price$0.119 / $0.297
- Context256K
GoogleGemma 4 12B IT
75/100- ECI—
- Price$0.075 / $0.275
- Context262K
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Seed Character 75/100, Gemma 4 12B IT 75/100, Laguna S 2.1 69/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Laguna S 2.1 on price and Laguna S 2.1 for long inputs. 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 S 2.1 and Gemma 4 12B ITLaguna S 2.1 $0.125 · Gemma 4 12B IT $0.125 · Seed Character $0.163 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextLaguna S 2.1Laguna S 2.1 1,048,576 · Gemma 4 12B IT 262,144 · Seed Character 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSeed CharacterLaguna S 2.1: Text · Seed Character: Text, Images, Video · Gemma 4 12B IT: Text, Images
- Self-hostingLaguna S 2.1 and Gemma 4 12B ITPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Laguna S 2.1 | Seed Character | Gemma 4 12B IT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 93 | 87 | 93 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 80 | 70 |
| Context window | 20% | 61 | 36 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 69/100 | 75/100 | 75/100 |
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 | Laguna S 2.1Poolside | Seed CharacterByteDance Seed | Gemma 4 12B ITGoogle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.10 | $0.119 | $0.075 (best) |
| Output | $0.20 (best) | $0.297 | $0.275 |
| Cached input | — | $0.024 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.125 (best) | $0.163 | $0.125 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Over 32K: $0.178 / $0.891 | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 4 providers | Official Volcengine Ark API | Median of 2 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens (best) | 256,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 256,000 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yesminimal · low · high | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | poolside/laguna-s-2.1 | doubao-seed-character-260628 | — |
| API providers | 6 (best) | 2 | 2 |
| Released | Jul 21, 2026 | Jun 23, 2026 | Jun 9, 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.
- Laguna S 2.1$1.40
- Seed Character$1.78
- Gemma 4 12B IT$1.30
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Laguna S 2.1, Seed Character or Gemma 4 12B IT?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Seed Character 75/100, Gemma 4 12B IT 75/100, Laguna S 2.1 69/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Laguna S 2.1 on price and Laguna S 2.1 for long inputs. 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, Laguna S 2.1, Seed Character or Gemma 4 12B IT?
Laguna S 2.1 is cheaper at $0.10 input / $0.20 output per million tokens (median across 4 API providers; free on Poolside). Gemma 4 12B IT costs $0.075 input / $0.275 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers); Seed Character costs $0.119 input / $0.297 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.125 per million tokens for Laguna S 2.1 versus $0.125 for Gemma 4 12B IT (1× as much) and $0.163 for Seed Character (1.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Laguna S 2.1 has not been scored yet, Seed Character has not been scored yet and Gemma 4 12B IT has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Laguna S 2.1, Seed Character and Gemma 4 12B IT 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 262,144 for Gemma 4 12B IT and 256,000 for Seed Character. Maximum output per response: Laguna S 2.1 up to 32,768, Seed Character up to 256,000, Gemma 4 12B IT up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Laguna S 2.1 accepts text; Seed Character accepts text, images and video; Gemma 4 12B IT accepts text and images. Seed Character handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Laguna S 2.1 and Gemma 4 12B IT publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Seed Character is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Laguna S 2.1 is the newest, released Jul 21, 2026. Seed Character came out Jun 23, 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.
