Laguna XS 2.1 vs Seed 1.6 Flash vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B
Seed 1.6 Flash comes out ahead, 78 to 71 and 68 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
PoolsideLaguna XS 2.1
68/100- ECI—
- Price$0.06 / $0.12
- Context262K
- Our pick
ByteDance SeedSeed 1.6 Flash
78/100- ECI—
- Price$0.022 / $0.223
- Context256K
NVIDIANemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B
71/100- ECI—
- Price$0.05 / $0.20
- Context262K
Seed 1.6 Flash is our pick
Seed 1.6 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 78/100 against Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B (71) and Laguna XS 2.1 (68). 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 priceSeed 1.6 FlashSeed 1.6 Flash $0.072 · 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 · Seed 1.6 Flash 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSeed 1.6 FlashLaguna XS 2.1: Text · Seed 1.6 Flash: Text, Images · Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B: Text
- Self-hostingLaguna XS 2.1 and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3BPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Laguna XS 2.1 | Seed 1.6 Flash | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 70 | 45 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 36 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 68/100 | 78/100 | 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 | Seed 1.6 FlashByteDance Seed | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3BNVIDIA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.06 | $0.022 (best) | $0.05 |
| Output | $0.12 (best) | $0.223 | $0.20 |
| Cached input | — | $0.0044 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.075 | $0.072 (best) | $0.087 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Over 32K: $0.045 / $0.445 | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Official Volcengine Ark API | Median of 9 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens (best) | 256,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 32,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | 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 | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | poolside/laguna-xs-2.1 | doubao-seed-1-6-flash-250828 | nvidia/nemotron-3.5-lightning-30b-a3b |
| API providers | 4 | 2 | 12 (best) |
| Released | Jul 2, 2026 | Aug 28, 2025 | 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
- Seed 1.6 Flash$0.668
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B$0.90
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Laguna XS 2.1, Seed 1.6 Flash or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B?
Seed 1.6 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 78/100 against Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B (71) and Laguna XS 2.1 (68). 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, Seed 1.6 Flash or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B?
Seed 1.6 Flash is cheaper at $0.022 input / $0.223 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark 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). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.072 per million tokens for Seed 1.6 Flash versus $0.075 for Laguna XS 2.1 (1× as much) and $0.087 for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B (1.2× 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, Seed 1.6 Flash 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, Seed 1.6 Flash 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. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
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 256,000 for Seed 1.6 Flash. Maximum output per response: Laguna XS 2.1 up to 32,768, Seed 1.6 Flash up to 32,000, 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; Seed 1.6 Flash accepts text and images; Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B accepts text. Seed 1.6 Flash handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Laguna XS 2.1 and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Seed 1.6 Flash is proprietary.
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; Seed 1.6 Flash came out Aug 28, 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.
