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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Laguna XS 2.1 vs Qwen3.6 27B

Laguna XS 2.1 comes out ahead, 68 to 56 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Poolside

    Laguna XS 2.1

    Released Jul 2, 2026

    68/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.06 / $0.12
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Laguna XS 2.1

  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.6 27B

    Released Apr 22, 2026

    56/100
    • ECI146.5
    • Price$0.60 / $3.60
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3.6 27B

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Laguna XS 2.1 is our pick

Laguna XS 2.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Qwen3.6 27B (56). It leads on price. Qwen3.6 27B wins 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 priceLaguna XS 2.1Laguna XS 2.1 $0.075 · Qwen3.6 27B $1.35 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameLaguna XS 2.1 262,144 · Qwen3.6 27B 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3.6 27BLaguna XS 2.1: Text · Qwen3.6 27B: Text, Images, Audio, Video
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightLaguna XS 2.1Qwen3.6 27B
Price50%10044
Inputs & features30%3590
Context window20%3737
Overall100%68/10056/100

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.

Laguna XS 2.1 vs Qwen3.6 27B specifications side by side
SpecificationLaguna XS 2.1PoolsideQwen3.6 27BAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)—146.5
ECI rank—#68 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions—85.9%
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics—35.1%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics—91.1%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.06 (best)$0.60
Output$0.12 (best)$3.60
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.075 (best)$1.35
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 1 providersOfficial Alibaba API
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens262,144 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens65,536 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoYes
VideoNoYes
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model IDpoolside/laguna-xs-2.1qwen3.6-27b
API providers427 (best)
ReleasedJul 2, 2026Apr 22, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
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.

  • Laguna XS 2.1$0.84
  • Qwen3.6 27B$13.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Laguna XS 2.1 or Qwen3.6 27B?

Laguna XS 2.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Qwen3.6 27B (56). It leads on price. Qwen3.6 27B wins 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 or Qwen3.6 27B?

Laguna XS 2.1 is cheaper at $0.06 input / $0.12 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider; free on Poolside). Qwen3.6 27B costs $0.60 input / $3.60 output per million tokens (official Alibaba 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 $1.35 for Qwen3.6 27B (18× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Laguna XS 2.1 has not been scored yet and Qwen3.6 27B has an ECI of 146.5.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Laguna XS 2.1 and Qwen3.6 27B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Laguna XS 2.1 and Qwen3.6 27B share the same 262,144-token context window. Maximum output per response: Laguna XS 2.1 up to 32,768, Qwen3.6 27B up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Laguna XS 2.1 accepts text; Qwen3.6 27B accepts text, images, audio and video. Qwen3.6 27B handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Laguna XS 2.1 is the newest, released Jul 2, 2026. Qwen3.6 27B came out Apr 22, 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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