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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

North Small Translate vs Laguna XS 2.1

Laguna XS 2.1 comes out ahead, 68 to 50 on our weighted score.

  1. Cohere

    North Small Translate

    Released Sep 9, 2026

    50/100
    • ECI—
    • PriceFree / Free
    • Context16K
  2. Our pick

    Poolside

    Laguna XS 2.1

    Released Jul 2, 2026

    68/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.06 / $0.12
    • Context262K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Laguna XS 2.1 is our pick

Laguna XS 2.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against North Small Translate (50). It leads 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 priceNorth Small TranslateNorth Small Translate Free · Laguna XS 2.1 $0.075 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextLaguna XS 2.1Laguna XS 2.1 262,144 · North Small Translate 16,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsNorth Small Translate: Text · Laguna XS 2.1: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightNorth Small TranslateLaguna XS 2.1
Price50%100100
Inputs & features30%035
Context window20%037
Overall100%50/10068/100

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

North Small Translate vs Laguna XS 2.1 specifications side by side
SpecificationNorth Small TranslateCohereLaguna XS 2.1Poolside
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
InputFree (best)$0.06
OutputFree (best)$0.12
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)Free (best)$0.075
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Cohere APIMedian of 1 providers
Limits
Context window16,000 tokens262,144 tokens (best)
Max output16,000 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingNoYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenCC-BY-NC-4.0Open
API model IDnorth-small-translate-09-2026poolside/laguna-xs-2.1
API providers14 (best)
ReleasedSep 9, 2026Jul 2, 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.

  • North Small TranslateFree
  • Laguna XS 2.1$0.84
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: North Small Translate or Laguna XS 2.1?

Laguna XS 2.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against North Small Translate (50). It leads 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, North Small Translate or Laguna XS 2.1?

North Small Translate is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Cohere API price). Laguna XS 2.1 costs $0.06 input / $0.12 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider; free on Poolside). North Small Translate is listed as free.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. North Small Translate 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 North Small Translate and Laguna XS 2.1 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that North Small Translate does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.

Which has the bigger context window?

Laguna XS 2.1 has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 16,000 for North Small Translate. Maximum output per response: North Small Translate up to 16,000, Laguna XS 2.1 up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

North Small Translate accepts text; Laguna XS 2.1 accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights (CC-BY-NC-4.0), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

North Small Translate is the newest, released Sep 9, 2026. Laguna XS 2.1 came out Jul 2, 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.