LongCat-2.5-Preview vs Sakana Namazu
Too close to call on our weighted score (LongCat-2.5-Preview 52, Sakana Namazu 51). The right pick depends on what you value most.
Meituan (LongCat)LongCat-2.5-Preview
52/100- ECI—
- Price$0.75 / $2.95
- Context1M
Sakana AI
Sakana Namazu
51/100- ECI—
- Price$0.95 / $4.00
- Context262K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 1 points (LongCat-2.5-Preview 52/100, Sakana Namazu 51/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: LongCat-2.5-Preview on price and LongCat-2.5-Preview 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 priceLongCat-2.5-PreviewLongCat-2.5-Preview $1.30 · Sakana Namazu $1.71 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextLongCat-2.5-PreviewLongCat-2.5-Preview 1,000,000 · Sakana Namazu 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsSakana NamazuLongCat-2.5-Preview: Text, Images · Sakana Namazu: Text, Images, PDFs
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | LongCat-2.5-Preview | Sakana Namazu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 44 | 39 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 52/100 | 51/100 |
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 | LongCat-2.5-PreviewMeituan (LongCat) | Sakana NamazuSakana AI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.75 (best) | $0.95 |
| Output | $2.95 (best) | $4.00 |
| Cached input | — | $0.15 |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.30 (best) | $1.71 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Official Sakana AI API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens (best) | 65,536 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | sakana-namazu |
| API providers | 2 | 5 (best) |
| Released | Sep 25, 2026 | Aug 3, 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.
- LongCat-2.5-Preview$13.40
- Sakana Namazu$17.50
Which should you choose?
Which is better: LongCat-2.5-Preview or Sakana Namazu?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 1 points (LongCat-2.5-Preview 52/100, Sakana Namazu 51/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: LongCat-2.5-Preview on price and LongCat-2.5-Preview 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, LongCat-2.5-Preview or Sakana Namazu?
LongCat-2.5-Preview is cheaper at $0.75 input / $2.95 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). Sakana Namazu costs $0.95 input / $4.00 output per million tokens (official Sakana AI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.30 per million tokens for LongCat-2.5-Preview versus $1.71 for Sakana Namazu (1.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. LongCat-2.5-Preview has not been scored yet and Sakana Namazu has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for LongCat-2.5-Preview and Sakana Namazu 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?
LongCat-2.5-Preview has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Sakana Namazu. Maximum output per response: LongCat-2.5-Preview up to 131,072, Sakana Namazu up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
LongCat-2.5-Preview accepts text and images; Sakana Namazu accepts text, images and PDFs. Sakana Namazu handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. LongCat-2.5-Preview and Sakana Namazu are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
LongCat-2.5-Preview is the newest, released Sep 25, 2026. Sakana Namazu came out Aug 3, 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.
