Laguna XS 2.1 vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B vs Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B comes out ahead, 71 to 68 and 50 on our weighted score, though Laguna XS 2.1 is 14% cheaper per token.
PoolsideLaguna XS 2.1
68/100- ECI—
- Price$0.06 / $0.12
- Context262K
- Our pick
NVIDIANemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B
71/100- ECI—
- Price$0.05 / $0.20
- Context262K
- NVIDIA
Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B
50/100- ECI146.2
- Price$0.50 / $2.50
- Context1M
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is our pick
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 71/100 against Laguna XS 2.1 (68) and Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B (50). Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B wins on 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 XS 2.1Laguna XS 2.1 $0.075 · Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B $0.087 · Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B $1.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextNemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55BNemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B 1,000,000 · Laguna XS 2.1 262,144 · Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsLaguna XS 2.1: Text · Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B: Text · Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Laguna XS 2.1 | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B | Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 100 | 100 | 50 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 45 | 45 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 37 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 68/100 | 71/100 | 50/100 |
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 | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3BNVIDIA | Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55BNVIDIA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | 146.2 |
| ECI rank | — | — | #70 of 148 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | — | — | 85.4% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | — | — | 86.7% |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.06 | $0.05 (best) | $0.50 |
| Output | $0.12 (best) | $0.20 | $2.50 |
| Cached input | — | — | $0.15 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.075 (best) | $0.087 | $1.00 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Median of 9 providers | Official Nvidia API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 262,144 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) | 128,000 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 | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Open | Open |
| API model ID | poolside/laguna-xs-2.1 | nvidia/nemotron-3.5-lightning-30b-a3b | nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b |
| API providers | 4 | 12 | 21 (best) |
| Released | Jul 2, 2026 | Aug 11, 2026 | Jun 4, 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 XS 2.1$0.84
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B$0.90
- Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B$10.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Laguna XS 2.1, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B or Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 71/100 against Laguna XS 2.1 (68) and Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B (50). Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B wins on 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, Laguna XS 2.1, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B or Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B?
Laguna XS 2.1 is cheaper at $0.06 input / $0.12 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider; free on Poolside). Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B costs $0.05 input / $0.20 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers; free on Nvidia); Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B costs $0.50 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (official Nvidia API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.075 per million tokens for Laguna XS 2.1 versus $0.087 for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B (1.2× as much) and $1.00 for Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B (13× as much).
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, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B has not been scored yet and Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B has an ECI of 146.2.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Laguna XS 2.1, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B and Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B 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?
Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Laguna XS 2.1 and 262,144 for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B. Maximum output per response: Laguna XS 2.1 up to 32,768, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B up to 262,144, Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B up to 128,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Laguna XS 2.1 accepts text; Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B accepts text; Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, all three publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is the newest, released Aug 11, 2026. Laguna XS 2.1 came out Jul 2, 2026; Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B came out Jun 4, 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.
