Inkling (batch) is $4 cheaper per 1M input tokens (80% lower; 5x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Inkling (batch) vs Fugu Ultra
Pick Inkling (batch) for lower cost; pick Fugu Ultra only if the larger context window matters more.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Inkling (batch) for lower cost; pick Fugu Ultra only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling (batch) is estimated at $3.02 vs $20 for Fugu Ultra, saving $16.98 (84.9% lower).
Cost-first pickInkling (batch)
Context-first pickFugu Ultra
Sample savings$16.9884.9%
10x traffic gap$169.75
Fugu Ultra has more context, but Inkling (batch) saves $16.98 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $169.75. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Inkling (batch) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Inkling (batch) | Fugu Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Inkling (batch) | $7.03 | $40 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Inkling (batch) | $5.05 | $35 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Inkling (batch) | $21.25 | $155 |
Inkling (batch) is $25.95 cheaper per 1M output tokens (86.5% lower; 7.41x difference).
Fugu Ultra has 475.71K more context (1.91x larger).
Inkling (batch) is $16.98 cheaper on the standard workload (84.9% 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
Inkling (batch) has the lower input price; Inkling (batch) has the lower output price; Fugu Ultra offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Inkling (batch) is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $3.02 for Inkling (batch) and $20 for Fugu Ultra.
Choose Inkling (batch) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose Fugu Ultra when you care most about larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling (batch) is estimated at $3.02 vs $20 for Fugu Ultra, saving $16.98 (84.9% lower).
- Inkling (batch) is $16.98 cheaper on the standard workload (84.9% lower).
- Inkling (batch) is $4 cheaper per 1M input tokens (80% lower; 5x difference).
- Inkling (batch) is $25.95 cheaper per 1M output tokens (86.5% lower; 7.41x difference).
- Fugu Ultra has 475.71K more context (1.91x larger).
| Feature | Inkling (batch) (Thinking Machines) | Fugu Ultra (Sakana) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1 | $5 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $4.05 | $30 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $3.02 | $20 |
| Context Window | 524.29K | 1M |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Inkling (batch) | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling (batch) is estimated at $3.02 vs $20 for Fugu Ultra, saving $16.98 (84.9% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Inkling (batch) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Inkling (batch) | 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
- Inkling Small (free) can replace Inkling (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Inkling (free) can replace Inkling (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Inkling Small can replace Inkling (batch) when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.05.
- Sakana Namazu can replace Fugu Ultra when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.95.
- 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
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Open provider hubsThinking Machines catalog
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Open Sakana modelsInkling is an open-weight multimodal mixture-of-experts model from Thinking Machines Lab, with 41B active parameters out of 975B total. It is designed for general-purpose reasoning, coding, agentic and tool-use systems,...
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...