North Mini Code vs Qwen3.8 Max Preview vs Laguna M.1
Too close to call on our weighted score (North Mini Code 71, Laguna M.1 68, Qwen3.8 Max Preview 47). The right pick depends on what you value most.
CohereNorth Mini Code
71/100- ECI—
- PriceFree / Free
- Context256K
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Max Preview
47/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
PoolsideLaguna M.1
68/100- ECI—
- PriceFree / Free
- Context262K
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (North Mini Code 71/100, Laguna M.1 68/100, Qwen3.8 Max Preview 47/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: North Mini Code on price and Qwen3.8 Max 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 priceNorth Mini Code and Laguna M.1North Mini Code Free · Laguna M.1 Free · Qwen3.8 Max Preview $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen3.8 Max PreviewQwen3.8 Max Preview 1,000,000 · Laguna M.1 262,144 · North Mini Code 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsQwen3.8 Max PreviewNorth Mini Code: Text · Qwen3.8 Max Preview: Text, Images, Video · Laguna M.1: Text
- Self-hostingNorth Mini Code and Laguna M.1Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | North Mini Code | Qwen3.8 Max Preview | Laguna M.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 100 | 27 | 100 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 45 | 70 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 60 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 71/100 | 47/100 | 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 | North Mini CodeCohere | Qwen3.8 Max PreviewAlibaba (Qwen) | Laguna M.1Poolside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | Free (best) | $2.00 | Free (best) |
| Output | Free (best) | $6.00 | Free (best) |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | Free (best) | $3.00 | Free (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Cohere API | Median of 6 providers | Official Poolside API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 64,000 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yeshigh | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | north-mini-code-1-0 | — | poolside/laguna-m.1 |
| API providers | 2 | 6 (best) | 2 |
| Released | Jun 9, 2026 | Jul 19, 2026 | Apr 28, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Sep 23, 2025 | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- North Mini CodeFree
- Qwen3.8 Max Preview$32.00
- Laguna M.1Free
Which should you choose?
Which is better: North Mini Code, Qwen3.8 Max Preview or Laguna M.1?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (North Mini Code 71/100, Laguna M.1 68/100, Qwen3.8 Max Preview 47/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: North Mini Code on price and Qwen3.8 Max 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, North Mini Code, Qwen3.8 Max Preview or Laguna M.1?
North Mini Code is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Cohere API price). Laguna M.1 costs Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Poolside API price); Qwen3.8 Max Preview costs $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). North Mini Code is listed as free.
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. North Mini Code has not been scored yet, Qwen3.8 Max Preview 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 North Mini Code, Qwen3.8 Max Preview and Laguna M.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?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Laguna M.1 and 256,000 for North Mini Code. Maximum output per response: North Mini Code up to 64,000, Qwen3.8 Max Preview up to 131,072, Laguna M.1 up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
North Mini Code accepts text; Qwen3.8 Max Preview accepts text, images and video; Laguna M.1 accepts text. Qwen3.8 Max Preview handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
North Mini Code and Laguna M.1 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Qwen3.8 Max Preview is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview is the newest, released Jul 19, 2026. North Mini Code came out Jun 9, 2026; Laguna M.1 came out Apr 28, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: North Mini Code Sep 23, 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.
