API cost decision in 10 seconds

Extract vs LFM2.5-2.6B

Pick Extract when budget and context both matter.

Page updated: 2026-10-24T22:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-10-25T00:08:13Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Extract when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Extract is estimated at $0.04 vs $0.6 for LFM2.5-2.6B, saving $0.56 (93.3% lower).

Cost-first pickExtract

Context-first pickExtract

Sample savings$0.5693.3%

10x traffic gap$5.6

Extract is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $5.6. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

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

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Extract	LFM2.5-2.6B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Extract	$0.2	$2
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Extract	$0.04	$0.85
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Extract	$0.04	$2.85

Cheaper input Extract $0.04 vs $0.35 / 1M

Extract is $0.31 cheaper per 1M input tokens (88.6% lower; 8.75x difference).

Cheaper output Extract $0 vs $0.5 / 1M

Extract is free for output tokens while LFM2.5-2.6B costs $0.5 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Extract 1M vs 128K

Extract has 872K more context (7.81x larger).

Sample workload Extract $0.04 vs $0.6

Extract is $0.56 cheaper on the standard workload (93.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Extract Calculating… Estimated API cost

LFM2.5-2.6B 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

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

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.04 for Extract and $0.6 for LFM2.5-2.6B.

Best Fit

Choose Extract when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Choose LFM2.5-2.6B when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Extract is estimated at $0.04 vs $0.6 for LFM2.5-2.6B, saving $0.56 (93.3% lower).
Extract is $0.56 cheaper on the standard workload (93.3% lower).
Extract is $0.31 cheaper per 1M input tokens (88.6% lower; 8.75x difference).
Extract is free for output tokens while LFM2.5-2.6B costs $0.5 per 1M tokens.
Extract has 872K more context (7.81x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Extract (ScaleDown)	LFM2.5-2.6B (LiquidAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.04	$0.35
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0	$0.5
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.04	$0.6
Context Window	1M	128K
Release Date	2026-10-13	2026-08-11

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Extract	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Extract is estimated at $0.04 vs $0.6 for LFM2.5-2.6B, saving $0.56 (93.3% lower).
High-volume input processing	Extract	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Extract	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Extract	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

LFM2.5-2.6B (free) can replace LFM2.5-2.6B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
LFM2.5-1.2B-Thinking (free) can replace LFM2.5-2.6B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
LFM2.5-1.2B-Instruct (free) can replace LFM2.5-2.6B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
LFM2-24B-A2B can replace LFM2.5-2.6B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.25 sample workload cost.
MiMo-V2.6-Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.
GPT-6 Luna offers 1.05M context with $0.35 sample workload cost.
GPT-6 Luna Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.35 sample workload cost.

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Provider catalogs

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ScaleDown catalog

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LiquidAI catalog

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