Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B vs Muse Glimmer 30B vs Laguna XS 2.1
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B comes out ahead, 71 to 68 and 57 on our weighted score, though Laguna XS 2.1 is 14% cheaper per token.
- Our pick
NVIDIANemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B
71/100- ECI—
- Price$0.05 / $0.20
- Context262K
MetaMuse Glimmer 30B
57/100- ECI—
- Price$0.30 / $1.20
- Context131K
PoolsideLaguna XS 2.1
68/100- ECI—
- Price$0.06 / $0.12
- Context262K
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is our pick
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 71/100 against Laguna XS 2.1 (68) and Muse Glimmer 30B (57). Muse Glimmer 30B 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 · Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B $0.087 · Muse Glimmer 30B $0.525 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextNemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B and Laguna XS 2.1Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B 262,144 · Laguna XS 2.1 262,144 · Muse Glimmer 30B 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsMuse Glimmer 30BNemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B: Text · Muse Glimmer 30B: Text, Images · Laguna XS 2.1: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B | Muse Glimmer 30B | Laguna XS 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 100 | 63 | 100 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 45 | 70 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 24 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 71/100 | 57/100 | 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 | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3BNVIDIA | Muse Glimmer 30BMeta | Laguna XS 2.1Poolside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.05 (best) | $0.30 | $0.06 |
| Output | $0.20 | $1.20 | $0.12 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.087 | $0.525 | $0.075 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 9 providers | Median of 10 providers | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 262,144 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens | 32,768 tokens |
| 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 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | OpenApache 2.0 | Open |
| API model ID | nvidia/nemotron-3.5-lightning-30b-a3b | — | poolside/laguna-xs-2.1 |
| API providers | 12 (best) | 12 (best) | 4 |
| Released | Aug 11, 2026 | Aug 10, 2026 | Jul 2, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Jan 4, 2026 | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B$0.90
- Muse Glimmer 30B$5.40
- Laguna XS 2.1$0.84
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B, Muse Glimmer 30B or Laguna XS 2.1?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 71/100 against Laguna XS 2.1 (68) and Muse Glimmer 30B (57). Muse Glimmer 30B 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, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B, Muse Glimmer 30B 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). Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B costs $0.05 input / $0.20 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers; free on Nvidia); Muse Glimmer 30B costs $0.30 input / $1.20 output per million tokens (median across 10 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 $0.087 for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B (1.2× as much) and $0.525 for Muse Glimmer 30B (7× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B has not been scored yet, Muse Glimmer 30B 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 Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B, Muse Glimmer 30B and Laguna XS 2.1 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?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B and Laguna XS 2.1 have the largest context windows (262,144 and 262,144 tokens), against 131,072 for Muse Glimmer 30B. Maximum output per response: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B up to 262,144, Muse Glimmer 30B up to 131,072, Laguna XS 2.1 up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B accepts text; Muse Glimmer 30B accepts text and images; Laguna XS 2.1 accepts text. Muse Glimmer 30B handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, all three publish their weights (Apache 2.0), so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is the newest, released Aug 11, 2026. Muse Glimmer 30B came out Aug 10, 2026; Laguna XS 2.1 came out Jul 2, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Muse Glimmer 30B Jan 4, 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.
