Claude Mythos 5 vs Laguna XS 2.1
Laguna XS 2.1 comes out ahead, 68 to 36 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
AnthropicClaude Mythos 5
36/100- ECI—
- Price$10.00 / $50.00
- Context1M
- Our pick
PoolsideLaguna XS 2.1
68/100- ECI—
- Price$0.06 / $0.12
- Context262K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Laguna XS 2.1 is our pick
Laguna XS 2.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Claude Mythos 5 (36). It leads on price. Claude Mythos 5 wins on inputs & features and context window. 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 · Claude Mythos 5 $20.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextClaude Mythos 5Claude Mythos 5 1,000,000 · Laguna XS 2.1 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsClaude Mythos 5Claude Mythos 5: Text, Images, PDFs · Laguna XS 2.1: Text
- Self-hostingLaguna XS 2.1Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Claude Mythos 5 | Laguna XS 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 0 | 100 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 36/100 | 68/100 |
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 | Claude Mythos 5Anthropic | Laguna XS 2.1Poolside |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $10.00 | $0.06 (best) |
| Output | $50.00 | $0.12 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $20.00 | $0.075 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 2 providers | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 128,000 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | — | poolside/laguna-xs-2.1 |
| API providers | 2 | 4 (best) |
| Released | Jun 9, 2026 | Jul 2, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jan 31, 2026 | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Claude Mythos 5$200.00
- Laguna XS 2.1$0.84
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Claude Mythos 5 or Laguna XS 2.1?
Laguna XS 2.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Claude Mythos 5 (36). It leads on price. Claude Mythos 5 wins on inputs & features and context window. 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, Claude Mythos 5 or Laguna XS 2.1?
Laguna XS 2.1 is cheaper at $0.06 input / $0.12 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider; free on Poolside). Claude Mythos 5 costs $10.00 input / $50.00 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). 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 $20.00 for Claude Mythos 5 (267× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Claude Mythos 5 has not been scored yet and Laguna XS 2.1 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Claude Mythos 5 and Laguna XS 2.1 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?
Claude Mythos 5 has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Laguna XS 2.1. Maximum output per response: Claude Mythos 5 up to 128,000, Laguna XS 2.1 up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Claude Mythos 5 accepts text, images and PDFs; Laguna XS 2.1 accepts text. Claude Mythos 5 handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Laguna XS 2.1 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Claude Mythos 5 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Laguna XS 2.1 is the newest, released Jul 2, 2026. Claude Mythos 5 came out Jun 9, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Claude Mythos 5 Jan 31, 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.
