Laguna S 2.1 is $9.91 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.1% lower; 111.1x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Laguna S 2.1 vs Claude Opus 4.8 (Fast)
Pick Laguna S 2.1 when budget and context both matter.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Laguna S 2.1 when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna S 2.1 is estimated at $0.18 vs $35 for Claude Opus 4.8 (Fast), saving $34.82 (99.5% lower).
Cost-first pickLaguna S 2.1
Context-first pickLaguna S 2.1
Sample savings$34.8299.5%
10x traffic gap$348.2
Laguna S 2.1 is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $348.2. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Laguna S 2.1 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Laguna S 2.1 | Claude Opus 4.8 (Fast) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Laguna S 2.1 | $0.54 | $75 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Laguna S 2.1 | $0.27 | $60 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Laguna S 2.1 | $0.99 | $260 |
Laguna S 2.1 is $49.82 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99.6% lower; 277.8x difference).
Laguna S 2.1 has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).
Laguna S 2.1 is $34.82 cheaper on the standard workload (99.5% lower).
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 S 2.1 has the lower input price; Laguna S 2.1 has the lower output price; Laguna S 2.1 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Laguna S 2.1 is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.18 for Laguna S 2.1 and $35 for Claude Opus 4.8 (Fast).
Choose Laguna S 2.1 when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.
Choose Claude Opus 4.8 (Fast) when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna S 2.1 is estimated at $0.18 vs $35 for Claude Opus 4.8 (Fast), saving $34.82 (99.5% lower).
- Laguna S 2.1 is $34.82 cheaper on the standard workload (99.5% lower).
- Laguna S 2.1 is $9.91 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.1% lower; 111.1x difference).
- Laguna S 2.1 is $49.82 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99.6% lower; 277.8x difference).
- Laguna S 2.1 has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).
| Feature | Laguna S 2.1 (Poolside) | Claude Opus 4.8 (Fast) (Anthropic) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.09 | $10 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.18 | $50 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.18 | $35 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 1M |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Laguna S 2.1 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna S 2.1 is estimated at $0.18 vs $35 for Claude Opus 4.8 (Fast), saving $34.82 (99.5% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Laguna S 2.1 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Laguna S 2.1 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Laguna S 2.1 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Laguna S 2.1 (free) can replace Laguna S 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Laguna XS 2.1 (free) can replace Laguna S 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Laguna XS.2 (free) can replace Laguna S 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Laguna M.1 (free) can replace Laguna S 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- 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.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.11 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #1
- MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #2
- Hy3 · Tencent · #3
- Ox Alpha · stealth · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
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Open provider hubsPoolside catalog
Review all tracked Poolside models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Poolside modelsAnthropic catalog
Check other Anthropic models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Anthropic modelsLaguna S 2.1 is the latest coding agent model from [Poolside](<https://poolside.ai/>). Laguna S 2.1 is a 118B total parameter model with 8B active parameters, scoring 70.2% on Terminal-Bench 2.1 and...
Fast-mode variant of [Opus 4.8](/anthropic/claude-opus-4.8) - identical capabilities with higher output speed at 2x pricing relative to regular Opus 4.8. Learn more in Anthropic's docs: https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/fast-mode