Seed Character vs Laguna S 2.1
Seed Character comes out ahead, 75 to 69 on our weighted score, though Laguna S 2.1 is 23% cheaper per token.
- Our pick
ByteDance SeedSeed Character
75/100- ECI—
- Price$0.119 / $0.297
- Context256K
PoolsideLaguna S 2.1
69/100- ECI—
- Price$0.10 / $0.20
- Context1.05M
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Seed Character is our pick
Seed Character is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Laguna S 2.1 (69). It leads on inputs & features. Laguna S 2.1 wins on price 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 priceLaguna S 2.1Laguna S 2.1 $0.125 · Seed Character $0.163 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextLaguna S 2.1Laguna S 2.1 1,048,576 · Seed Character 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSeed CharacterSeed Character: Text, Images, Video · Laguna S 2.1: Text
- Self-hostingLaguna S 2.1Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Seed Character | Laguna S 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 87 | 93 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 61 |
| Overall | 100% | 75/100 | 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 | Seed CharacterByteDance Seed | Laguna S 2.1Poolside |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.119 | $0.10 (best) |
| Output | $0.297 | $0.20 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.024 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.163 | $0.125 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Over 32K: $0.178 / $0.891 | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Volcengine Ark API | Median of 4 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 256,000 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yesminimal · low · high | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | doubao-seed-character-260628 | poolside/laguna-s-2.1 |
| API providers | 2 | 6 (best) |
| Released | Jun 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.
- Seed Character$1.78
- Laguna S 2.1$1.40
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Seed Character or Laguna S 2.1?
Seed Character is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Laguna S 2.1 (69). It leads on inputs & features. Laguna S 2.1 wins on price 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, Seed Character 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). Seed Character costs $0.119 input / $0.297 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). 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 $0.163 for Seed Character (1.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Seed Character 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 Seed Character 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 256,000 for Seed Character. Maximum output per response: Seed Character up to 256,000, Laguna S 2.1 up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Seed Character accepts text, images and video; Laguna S 2.1 accepts text. Seed Character handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Laguna S 2.1 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Seed Character is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Laguna S 2.1 is the newest, released Jul 21, 2026. Seed Character came out Jun 23, 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.
