API cost decision in 10 seconds

Inkling Small vs Laguna XS 2.1

Pick Laguna XS 2.1 for lower cost; pick Inkling Small only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-08-20T20:08:03Z Data confirmed: 2026-08-23T13:07:49Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Laguna XS 2.1 for lower cost; pick Inkling Small only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna XS 2.1 is estimated at $0.12 vs $1.05 for Inkling Small, saving $0.93 (88.6% lower).

Cost-first pickLaguna XS 2.1

Context-first pickInkling Small

Sample savings$0.9388.6%

10x traffic gap$9.3

Inkling Small has more context, but Laguna XS 2.1 saves $0.93 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $9.3. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Laguna XS 2.1 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Inkling Small	Laguna XS 2.1
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Laguna XS 2.1	$2.85	$0.36
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Laguna XS 2.1	$1.65	$0.18
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Laguna XS 2.1	$6.45	$0.66

Cheaper input Laguna XS 2.1 $0.45 vs $0.06 / 1M

Laguna XS 2.1 is $0.39 cheaper per 1M input tokens (86.7% lower; 7.5x difference).

Cheaper output Laguna XS 2.1 $1.2 vs $0.12 / 1M

Laguna XS 2.1 is $1.08 cheaper per 1M output tokens (90% lower; 10x difference).

Larger context Inkling Small 1.05M vs 262.14K

Inkling Small has 786.43K more context (4x larger).

Sample workload Laguna XS 2.1 $1.05 vs $0.12

Laguna XS 2.1 is $0.93 cheaper on the standard workload (88.6% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Inkling Small Calculating… Estimated API cost

Laguna XS 2.1 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 XS 2.1 has the lower input price; Laguna XS 2.1 has the lower output price; Inkling Small offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Laguna XS 2.1 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.05 for Inkling Small and $0.12 for Laguna XS 2.1.

Best Fit

Choose Inkling Small when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Laguna XS 2.1 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 XS 2.1 is estimated at $0.12 vs $1.05 for Inkling Small, saving $0.93 (88.6% lower).
Laguna XS 2.1 is $0.93 cheaper on the standard workload (88.6% lower).
Laguna XS 2.1 is $0.39 cheaper per 1M input tokens (86.7% lower; 7.5x difference).
Laguna XS 2.1 is $1.08 cheaper per 1M output tokens (90% lower; 10x difference).
Inkling Small has 786.43K more context (4x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Inkling Small (Thinking Machines)	Laguna XS 2.1 (Poolside)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.45	$0.06
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$1.2	$0.12
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$1.05	$0.12
Context Window	1.05M	262.14K
Release Date	2026-07-30	2026-07-02

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Laguna XS 2.1	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna XS 2.1 is estimated at $0.12 vs $1.05 for Inkling Small, saving $0.93 (88.6% lower).
High-volume input processing	Laguna XS 2.1	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Laguna XS 2.1	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Inkling Small	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Inkling Small (free) can replace Inkling Small when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Inkling (free) can replace Inkling Small when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Laguna S 2.1 (free) can replace Laguna XS 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Laguna XS 2.1 (free) can replace Laguna XS 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.

Larger context near this budget

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.
Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.25 sample workload cost.
MiMo-V2.5 offers 1.05M context with $0.28 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

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Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

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Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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Thinking Machines catalog

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

Open Thinking Machines models

Poolside catalog

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

Open Poolside models

Inkling Small

Inkling Small is an open-weight multimodal mixture-of-experts model from Thinking Machines Lab, with 12B active parameters out of 276B total. It is positioned as the smaller, more efficient member of...

Laguna XS 2.1

Laguna XS 2.1 is the latest coding agent model in the 33B-A3B category from [Poolside](https://poolside.ai/) and a step forward from their Laguna XS.2 model (released in April 2026). It combines...