Laguna XS 2.1 vs North Small Translate vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B comes out ahead, 71 to 68 and 50 on our weighted score.
PoolsideLaguna XS 2.1
68/100- ECI—
- Price$0.06 / $0.12
- Context262K
CohereNorth Small Translate
50/100- ECI—
- PriceFree / Free
- Context16K
- Our pick
NVIDIANemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B
71/100- ECI—
- Price$0.05 / $0.20
- Context262K
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 North Small Translate (50). It leads on inputs & features. 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 Small TranslateNorth Small Translate Free · Laguna XS 2.1 $0.075 · Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B $0.087 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextLaguna XS 2.1 and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3BLaguna XS 2.1 262,144 · Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B 262,144 · North Small Translate 16,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsLaguna XS 2.1: Text · North Small Translate: Text · Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Laguna XS 2.1 | North Small Translate | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 0 | 45 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 0 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 68/100 | 50/100 | 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 | North Small TranslateCohere | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3BNVIDIA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.06 | Free (best) | $0.05 |
| Output | $0.12 | Free (best) | $0.20 |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.075 | Free (best) | $0.087 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Official Cohere API | Median of 9 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens (best) | 16,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 16,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| 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 | No | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | No | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | OpenCC-BY-NC-4.0 | Open |
| API model ID | poolside/laguna-xs-2.1 | north-small-translate-09-2026 | nvidia/nemotron-3.5-lightning-30b-a3b |
| API providers | 4 | 1 | 12 (best) |
| Released | Jul 2, 2026 | Sep 9, 2026 | Aug 11, 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
- North Small TranslateFree
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B$0.90
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Laguna XS 2.1, North Small Translate or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 71/100 against Laguna XS 2.1 (68) and North Small Translate (50). It leads on inputs & features. 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, North Small Translate or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B?
North Small Translate is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Cohere API price). Laguna XS 2.1 costs $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). North Small Translate 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, North Small Translate has not been scored yet and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Laguna XS 2.1, North Small Translate and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B 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?
Laguna XS 2.1 and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B have the largest context windows (262,144 and 262,144 tokens), against 16,000 for North Small Translate. Maximum output per response: Laguna XS 2.1 up to 32,768, North Small Translate up to 16,000, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B up to 262,144 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Laguna XS 2.1 accepts text; North Small Translate accepts text; Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, all three publish their weights (CC-BY-NC-4.0), so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
North Small Translate is the newest, released Sep 9, 2026. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B came out Aug 11, 2026; Laguna XS 2.1 came out Jul 2, 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.
