Laguna XS 2.1 vs Mercury 2.5 vs North Mini Code
Too close to call on our weighted score (Mercury 2.5 71, North Mini Code 71, Laguna XS 2.1 68). The right pick depends on what you value most.
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
CohereNorth Mini Code
71/100- ECI—
- PriceFree / Free
- Context256K
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Mercury 2.5 71/100, North Mini Code 71/100, Laguna XS 2.1 68/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: North Mini Code on price. 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 priceNorth Mini CodeNorth Mini Code Free · Mercury 2.5 $0.068 · Laguna XS 2.1 $0.075 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextLaguna XS 2.1 and Mercury 2.5Laguna XS 2.1 262,144 · Mercury 2.5 260,000 · North Mini Code 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsLaguna XS 2.1: Text · Mercury 2.5: Text · North Mini Code: Text
- Self-hostingLaguna XS 2.1 and North Mini CodePublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Laguna XS 2.1 | Mercury 2.5 | North Mini Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 45 | 45 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 36 | 36 |
| Overall | 100% | 68/100 | 71/100 | 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 | Laguna XS 2.1Poolside | Mercury 2.5Inception | North Mini CodeCohere |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.06 | $0.04 | Free (best) |
| Output | $0.12 | $0.15 | Free (best) |
| Cached input | — | $0.004 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.075 | $0.068 | Free (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Official Inception API | Official Cohere API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens (best) | 260,000 tokens | 256,000 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 65,536 tokens (best) | 64,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yeslow · medium · high | Yeshigh |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | poolside/laguna-xs-2.1 | mercury-2.5 | north-mini-code-1-0 |
| API providers | 4 (best) | 1 | 2 |
| Released | Jul 2, 2026 | Sep 8, 2026 | Jun 9, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Nov 1, 2025 | Sep 23, 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Laguna XS 2.1$0.84
- Mercury 2.5$0.70
- North Mini CodeFree
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Laguna XS 2.1, Mercury 2.5 or North Mini Code?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Mercury 2.5 71/100, North Mini Code 71/100, Laguna XS 2.1 68/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: North Mini Code on price. 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 XS 2.1, Mercury 2.5 or North Mini Code?
North Mini Code is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Cohere API price). Mercury 2.5 costs $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). North Mini Code is listed as free.
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Laguna XS 2.1 has not been scored yet, Mercury 2.5 has not been scored yet and North Mini Code has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Laguna XS 2.1, Mercury 2.5 and North Mini Code 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 XS 2.1 and Mercury 2.5 have the largest context windows (262,144 and 260,000 tokens), against 256,000 for North Mini Code. Maximum output per response: Laguna XS 2.1 up to 32,768, Mercury 2.5 up to 65,536, North Mini Code up to 64,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Laguna XS 2.1 accepts text; Mercury 2.5 accepts text; North Mini Code accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Laguna XS 2.1 and North Mini Code 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; North Mini Code came out Jun 9, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Mercury 2.5 Nov 1, 2025, North Mini Code Sep 23, 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.
