API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewGemini 4 Argon vs Fugu Max

Pick Fugu Max for lower cost; pick Gemini 4 Argon only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-10-13T17:20:24Z Data confirmed: 2026-10-15T02:07:54Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Fugu Max for lower cost; pick Gemini 4 Argon only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Fugu Max is estimated at $5 vs $7 for Gemini 4 Argon, saving $2 (28.6% lower).

Cost-first pickFugu Max

Context-first pickGemini 4 Argon

Sample savings$228.6%

10x traffic gap$20

Gemini 4 Argon has more context, but Fugu Max saves $2 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $20. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Fugu Max stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Gemini 4 Argon	Fugu Max
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Fugu Max	$15	$13
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Fugu Max	$12	$8
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Fugu Max	$52	$32

Cheaper input Tie $2 vs $2 / 1M

Both models report the same input price at $2 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Fugu Max $10 vs $6 / 1M

Fugu Max is $4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).

Larger context Gemini 4 Argon 1.05M vs 1M

Gemini 4 Argon has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).

Sample workload Fugu Max $7 vs $5

Fugu Max is $2 cheaper on the standard workload (28.6% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Gemini 4 Argon Calculating… Estimated API cost

Fugu Max Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

both models tie on input price; Fugu Max has the lower output price; Gemini 4 Argon offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Fugu Max is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $7 for Gemini 4 Argon and $5 for Fugu Max.

Best Fit

Choose Gemini 4 Argon when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Fugu Max when you care most about lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Fugu Max is estimated at $5 vs $7 for Gemini 4 Argon, saving $2 (28.6% lower).
Fugu Max is $2 cheaper on the standard workload (28.6% lower).
Both models report the same input price at $2 per 1M tokens.
Fugu Max is $4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
Gemini 4 Argon has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewGemini 4 Argon (Google)	Fugu Max (Sakana)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$2	$2
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$10	$6
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$7	$5
Context Window	1.05M	1M
Release Date	2026-10-13	2026-09-11

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Fugu Max	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Fugu Max is estimated at $5 vs $7 for Gemini 4 Argon, saving $2 (28.6% lower).
High-volume input processing	Tie	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Fugu Max	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Gemini 4 Argon	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Gemini 4 Argon when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Gemma 4 31B (free) can replace Gemini 4 Argon when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Gemini 4 Argon when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Gemini 4 Argon when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.

Larger context near this budget

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.47 sample workload cost.
MiMo-V2.6-Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Step 5 Preview · StepFun · #2
GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #3
MiMo-V2.6-Flash · Xiaomi · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

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Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

Open provider hubs

Google catalog

Review all tracked Google models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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Sakana catalog

Check other Sakana models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open Sakana models

Gemini 4 Argon

Gemini 4 Argon is Google's flagship reasoning model, built for complex software engineering, deep mathematical and scientific problem solving, and autonomous multi-step agents. Google trained it to keep context across...

Fugu Max

Fugu Max is the cost-performance model in Sakana AI's Fugu family. Rather than a single monolithic model, Fugu is a learned multi-agent orchestration system: a language model trained to route...