ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B vs Laguna M.1

Too close to call on our weighted score (Laguna M.1 68, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B 65). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. NVIDIA

    Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B

    Released Apr 7, 2025

    65/100
    • ECI—
    • PriceFree / Free
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B

  2. Poolside

    Laguna M.1

    Released Apr 28, 2026

    68/100
    • ECI—
    • PriceFree / Free
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Laguna M.1

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (Laguna M.1 68/100, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B 65/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B on price and Laguna M.1 for long inputs. 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 priceSame priceLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B Free · Laguna M.1 Free per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextLaguna M.1Laguna M.1 262,144 · Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B: Text · Laguna M.1: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253BLaguna M.1
Price50%100100
Inputs & features30%3535
Context window20%2437
Overall100%65/10068/100

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.

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B vs Laguna M.1 specifications side by side
SpecificationLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253BNVIDIALaguna M.1Poolside
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
InputFreeFree
OutputFreeFree
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)FreeFree
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Nvidia APIOfficial Poolside API
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens262,144 tokens (best)
Max output8,192 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model IDnvidia/llama-3.1-nemotron-ultra-253b-v1poolside/laguna-m.1
API providers12 (best)
ReleasedApr 7, 2025Apr 28, 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.

  • Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253BFree
  • Laguna M.1Free
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B or Laguna M.1?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (Laguna M.1 68/100, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B 65/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B on price and Laguna M.1 for long inputs. 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, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B or Laguna M.1?

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B and Laguna M.1 cost the same: Free input / Free output per million tokens.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B has not been scored yet and Laguna M.1 has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B and Laguna M.1 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 M.1 has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 128,000 for Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B. Maximum output per response: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B up to 8,192, Laguna M.1 up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B accepts text; Laguna M.1 accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

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

Which is newer?

Laguna M.1 is the newest, released Apr 28, 2026. Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B came out Apr 7, 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.

05 — Keep comparing

Related comparisons