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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3.6 27B vs Laguna XS 2.1

Laguna XS 2.1 comes out ahead, 68 to 56 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.6 27B

    Released Apr 22, 2026

    56/100
    • ECI146.5
    • Price$0.60 / $3.60
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3.6 27B
  2. Our pick

    Poolside

    Laguna XS 2.1

    Released Jul 2, 2026

    68/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.06 / $0.12
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Laguna XS 2.1

  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 Qwen3.6 27B (56). It leads on price. Qwen3.6 27B 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 · Qwen3.6 27B $1.35 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3.6 27B 262,144 · Laguna XS 2.1 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3.6 27BQwen3.6 27B: Text, Images, Audio, Video · 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
MeasureWeightQwen3.6 27BLaguna XS 2.1
Price50%44100
Inputs & features30%9035
Context window20%3737
Overall100%56/10068/100

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.

Qwen3.6 27B vs Laguna XS 2.1 specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3.6 27BAlibaba (Qwen)Laguna XS 2.1Poolside
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)146.5—
ECI rank#68 of 148—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions85.9%—
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics35.1%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics91.1%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.60$0.06 (best)
Output$3.60$0.12 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$1.35$0.075 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIMedian of 1 providers
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens262,144 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens (best)32,768 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioYesNo
VideoYesNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model IDqwen3.6-27bpoolside/laguna-xs-2.1
API providers27 (best)4
ReleasedApr 22, 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.

  • Qwen3.6 27B$13.20
  • Laguna XS 2.1$0.84
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3.6 27B or Laguna XS 2.1?

Laguna XS 2.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Qwen3.6 27B (56). It leads on price. Qwen3.6 27B 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, Qwen3.6 27B 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). Qwen3.6 27B costs $0.60 input / $3.60 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). 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 $1.35 for Qwen3.6 27B (18× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3.6 27B has an ECI of 146.5 and Laguna XS 2.1 has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3.6 27B and Laguna XS 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?

Qwen3.6 27B and Laguna XS 2.1 share the same 262,144-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.6 27B up to 65,536, Laguna XS 2.1 up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3.6 27B accepts text, images, audio and video; Laguna XS 2.1 accepts text. Qwen3.6 27B handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Laguna XS 2.1 is the newest, released Jul 2, 2026. Qwen3.6 27B came out Apr 22, 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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