API cost decision in 10 seconds
Laguna M.1 (free) vs 🔥DeepSeek V4 Pro
Pick Laguna M.1 (free) for lower cost; pick DeepSeek V4 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.
Pricing data updated:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Laguna M.1 (free) for lower cost; pick DeepSeek V4 Pro 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 $0.87 for DeepSeek V4 Pro, saving $0.87 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickLaguna M.1 (free)
Context-first pickDeepSeek V4 Pro
Sample savings$0.87100%
10x traffic gap$8.7
DeepSeek V4 Pro has more context, but Laguna M.1 (free) saves $0.87 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $8.7. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
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) | DeepSeek V4 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Laguna M.1 (free) | $0 | $2.61 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Laguna M.1 (free) | $0 | $1.3 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Laguna M.1 (free) | $0 | $4.78 |
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
Laguna M.1 (free) has the lower input price, Laguna M.1 (free) has the lower output price, and DeepSeek V4 Pro offers the larger context window.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for Laguna M.1 (free) and $0.87 for DeepSeek V4 Pro.
Choose Laguna M.1 (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose DeepSeek V4 Pro when you care most about larger context window.
| Feature | Laguna M.1 (free) (Poolside) | 🔥DeepSeek V4 Pro (DeepSeek) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0 | $0.43 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0 | $0.87 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0 | $0.87 |
| Context Window | 131.07K | 1.05M |
| Release Date | 2026-04-28 | 2026-04-24 |
| Popularity | #6 |
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...
DeepSeek V4 Pro is a large-scale Mixture-of-Experts model from DeepSeek with 1.6T total parameters and 49B activated parameters, supporting a 1M-token context window. It is designed for advanced reasoning, coding,...
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 $0.87 for DeepSeek V4 Pro, saving $0.87 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Laguna M.1 (free) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts or retrieved passages 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 | DeepSeek V4 Pro | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages and source files. |