Qwen 3.8 Max Prime vs Laguna S 2.1
Laguna S 2.1 comes out ahead, 69 to 42 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen 3.8 Max Prime
42/100- ECI—
- Price$4.00 / $12.00
- Context1M
- Our pick
PoolsideLaguna S 2.1
69/100- ECI—
- Price$0.10 / $0.20
- Context1.05M
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Laguna S 2.1 is our pick
Laguna S 2.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 69/100 against Qwen 3.8 Max Prime (42). It leads on price. Qwen 3.8 Max Prime 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 S 2.1Laguna S 2.1 $0.125 · Qwen 3.8 Max Prime $6.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextLaguna S 2.1Laguna S 2.1 1,048,576 · Qwen 3.8 Max Prime 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsQwen 3.8 Max PrimeQwen 3.8 Max Prime: Text, Images, Video · Laguna S 2.1: Text
- Self-hostingLaguna S 2.1Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Qwen 3.8 Max Prime | Laguna S 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 13 | 93 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 61 |
| Overall | 100% | 42/100 | 69/100 |
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 | Qwen 3.8 Max PrimeAlibaba (Qwen) | Laguna S 2.1Poolside |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $4.00 | $0.10 (best) |
| Output | $12.00 | $0.20 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $6.00 | $0.125 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 4 providers | Median of 4 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | — | poolside/laguna-s-2.1 |
| API providers | 4 | 6 (best) |
| Released | Sep 23, 2026 | Jul 21, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Qwen 3.8 Max Prime$64.00
- Laguna S 2.1$1.40
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen 3.8 Max Prime or Laguna S 2.1?
Laguna S 2.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 69/100 against Qwen 3.8 Max Prime (42). It leads on price. Qwen 3.8 Max Prime 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, Qwen 3.8 Max Prime or Laguna S 2.1?
Laguna S 2.1 is cheaper at $0.10 input / $0.20 output per million tokens (median across 4 API providers; free on Poolside). Qwen 3.8 Max Prime costs $4.00 input / $12.00 output per million tokens (median across 4 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.125 per million tokens for Laguna S 2.1 versus $6.00 for Qwen 3.8 Max Prime (48× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen 3.8 Max Prime has not been scored yet and Laguna S 2.1 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen 3.8 Max Prime and Laguna S 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?
Laguna S 2.1 has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 1,000,000 for Qwen 3.8 Max Prime. Maximum output per response: Qwen 3.8 Max Prime up to 131,072, Laguna S 2.1 up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen 3.8 Max Prime accepts text, images and video; Laguna S 2.1 accepts text. Qwen 3.8 Max Prime handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Laguna S 2.1 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Qwen 3.8 Max Prime is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen 3.8 Max Prime is the newest, released Sep 23, 2026. Laguna S 2.1 came out Jul 21, 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.
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