API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewLaguna M.1 (free) vs Claude Sonnet 4

Pick Laguna M.1 (free) for lower cost; pick Claude Sonnet 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T19:08:13Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Laguna M.1 (free) for lower cost; pick Claude Sonnet 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna M.1 (free) is estimated at $0 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4, saving $10.5 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickLaguna M.1 (free)

Context-first pickClaude Sonnet 4

Sample savings$10.5100%

10x traffic gap$105

Claude Sonnet 4 has more context, but Laguna M.1 (free) saves $10.5 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $105. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Laguna M.1 (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Laguna M.1 (free)	Claude Sonnet 4
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Laguna M.1 (free)	$0	$22.5
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Laguna M.1 (free)	$0	$18
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Laguna M.1 (free)	$0	$78

Cheaper input Laguna M.1 (free) $0 vs $3 / 1M

Laguna M.1 (free) is free for input tokens while Claude Sonnet 4 costs $3 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Laguna M.1 (free) $0 vs $15 / 1M

Laguna M.1 (free) is free for output tokens while Claude Sonnet 4 costs $15 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Claude Sonnet 4 262.14K vs 1M

Claude Sonnet 4 has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).

Sample workload Laguna M.1 (free) $0 vs $10.5

Laguna M.1 (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $10.5.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Laguna M.1 (free) Calculating… Estimated API cost

Claude Sonnet 4 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

Laguna M.1 (free) has the lower input price; Laguna M.1 (free) has the lower output price; Claude Sonnet 4 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Laguna M.1 (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for Laguna M.1 (free) and $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4.

Best Fit

Choose Laguna M.1 (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose Claude Sonnet 4 when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna M.1 (free) is estimated at $0 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4, saving $10.5 (100% lower).
Laguna M.1 (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $10.5.
Laguna M.1 (free) is free for input tokens while Claude Sonnet 4 costs $3 per 1M tokens.
Laguna M.1 (free) is free for output tokens while Claude Sonnet 4 costs $15 per 1M tokens.
Claude Sonnet 4 has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewLaguna M.1 (free) (Poolside)	Claude Sonnet 4 (Anthropic)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0	$3
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0	$15
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0	$10.5
Context Window	262.14K	1M
Release Date	2026-04-28	2025-05-22
Popularity	#21	#60

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Laguna M.1 (free)	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna M.1 (free) is estimated at $0 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4, saving $10.5 (100% lower).
High-volume input processing	Laguna M.1 (free)	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Laguna M.1 (free)	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Claude Sonnet 4	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Claude 3 Haiku can replace Claude Sonnet 4 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.88.
Claude 3.5 Haiku can replace Claude Sonnet 4 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.8.
Anthropic Claude Haiku Latest can replace Claude Sonnet 4 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.
Claude Haiku 4.5 can replace Claude Sonnet 4 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
GPT-5.4 offers 1.05M context with $10 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

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

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

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

Open provider hubs

Poolside catalog

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

Open Poolside models

Anthropic catalog

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

Open Anthropic models

Laguna M.1 (free)

Laguna M.1 is the flagship coding agent model from [Poolside](https://poolside.ai), optimized for complex software engineering tasks. Designed for agentic coding workflows, it supports tool calling and reasoning, with a 128K...

Claude Sonnet 4

Claude Sonnet 4 significantly enhances the capabilities of its predecessor, Sonnet 3.7, excelling in both coding and reasoning tasks with improved precision and controllability. Achieving state-of-the-art performance on SWE-bench (72.7%),...