API cost decision in 10 seconds

Fugu Ultra vs Laguna M.1

Pick Laguna M.1 for lower cost; pick Fugu Ultra only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-07-28T14:07:22Z Data confirmed: 2026-08-23T13:07:49Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Laguna M.1 for lower cost; pick Fugu Ultra only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna M.1 is estimated at $0.4 vs $20 for Fugu Ultra, saving $19.6 (98% lower).

Cost-first pickLaguna M.1

Context-first pickFugu Ultra

Sample savings$19.698%

10x traffic gap$196

Fugu Ultra has more context, but Laguna M.1 saves $19.6 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $196. 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 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Fugu Ultra	Laguna M.1
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Laguna M.1	$40	$1.2
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Laguna M.1	$35	$0.6
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Laguna M.1	$155	$2.2

Cheaper input Laguna M.1 $5 vs $0.2 / 1M

Laguna M.1 is $4.8 cheaper per 1M input tokens (96% lower; 25x difference).

Cheaper output Laguna M.1 $30 vs $0.4 / 1M

Laguna M.1 is $29.6 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.7% lower; 75x difference).

Larger context Fugu Ultra 1M vs 262.14K

Fugu Ultra has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).

Sample workload Laguna M.1 $20 vs $0.4

Laguna M.1 is $19.6 cheaper on the standard workload (98% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Fugu Ultra Calculating… Estimated API cost

Laguna M.1 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 has the lower input price; Laguna M.1 has the lower output price; Fugu Ultra offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Laguna M.1 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $20 for Fugu Ultra and $0.4 for Laguna M.1.

Best Fit

Choose Fugu Ultra when you care most about larger context window.

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

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna M.1 is estimated at $0.4 vs $20 for Fugu Ultra, saving $19.6 (98% lower).
Laguna M.1 is $19.6 cheaper on the standard workload (98% lower).
Laguna M.1 is $4.8 cheaper per 1M input tokens (96% lower; 25x difference).
Laguna M.1 is $29.6 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.7% lower; 75x difference).
Fugu Ultra has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Fugu Ultra (Sakana)	Laguna M.1 (Poolside)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$5	$0.2
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$30	$0.4
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$20	$0.4
Context Window	1M	262.14K
Release Date	2026-06-24	2026-04-28

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Laguna M.1	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna M.1 is estimated at $0.4 vs $20 for Fugu Ultra, saving $19.6 (98% lower).
High-volume input processing	Laguna M.1	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Laguna M.1	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Fugu Ultra	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Sakana Namazu can replace Fugu Ultra when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.95.
Laguna S 2.1 (free) can replace Laguna M.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Laguna XS 2.1 (free) can replace Laguna M.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Laguna XS.2 (free) can replace Laguna M.1 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.
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.

Popular competitors

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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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

Sakana catalog

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

Open Sakana models

Poolside catalog

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

Open Poolside models

Fugu Ultra

Fugu Ultra is the higher-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...

Laguna M.1

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 256K...