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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B vs Laguna M.1

Too close to call on our weighted score (Laguna M.1 36, Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B 35). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. NVIDIA

    Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B

    Released Mar 24, 2026

    35/100
    • ECI—
    • Price—
    • Context256K
    Full specs Remove Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B

  2. Poolside

    Laguna M.1

    Released Apr 28, 2026

    36/100
    • ECI—
    • PriceFree / Free
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Laguna M.1

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01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Laguna M.1 36/100, Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B 35/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Laguna M.1 on price and Laguna M.1 for long inputs. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. 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 M.1Laguna M.1 Free per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B unpriced
  • Longest contextLaguna M.1Laguna M.1 262,144 · Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B 256,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsNemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B: 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
MeasureWeightNemotron Cascade 2 30B A3BLaguna M.1
Inputs & features60%3535
Context window40%3637
Overall100%35/10036/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability and price. 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.

Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B vs Laguna M.1 specifications side by side
SpecificationNemotron Cascade 2 30B A3BNVIDIALaguna M.1Poolside
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input—Free
Output—Free
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)—Free
Long-context rate—Same rate
Price source—Official Poolside API
Limits
Context window256,000 tokens262,144 tokens (best)
Max output32,768 tokens32,768 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model ID—poolside/laguna-m.1
API providers—2
ReleasedMar 24, 2026Apr 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.

  • Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B—
  • Laguna M.1Free
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B or Laguna M.1?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Laguna M.1 36/100, Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B 35/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Laguna M.1 on price and Laguna M.1 for long inputs. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B or Laguna M.1?

Laguna M.1 is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Poolside API price). . Laguna M.1 is listed as free. Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B has no published per-token price.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B 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 Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B 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 256,000 for Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B. Maximum output per response: Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B up to 32,768, Laguna M.1 up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B 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. Nemotron Cascade 2 30B A3B came out Mar 24, 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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