API cost decision in 10 seconds

Inkling vs Laguna XS.2

Pick Laguna XS.2 for lower cost; pick Inkling only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-08-23T01:07:54Z Data confirmed: 2026-08-23T11:07:50Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Laguna XS.2 for lower cost; pick Inkling only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna XS.2 is estimated at $0.2 vs $3.02 for Inkling, saving $2.82 (93.4% lower).

Cost-first pickLaguna XS.2

Context-first pickInkling

Sample savings$2.8293.4%

10x traffic gap$28.25

Inkling has more context, but Laguna XS.2 saves $2.82 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $28.25. 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 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Inkling	Laguna XS.2
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Laguna XS.2	$7.03	$0.6
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Laguna XS.2	$5.05	$0.3
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Laguna XS.2	$21.25	$1.1

Cheaper input Laguna XS.2 $1 vs $0.1 / 1M

Laguna XS.2 is $0.9 cheaper per 1M input tokens (90% lower; 10x difference).

Cheaper output Laguna XS.2 $4.05 vs $0.2 / 1M

Laguna XS.2 is $3.85 cheaper per 1M output tokens (95.1% lower; 20.2x difference).

Larger context Inkling 1.05M vs 262.14K

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

Sample workload Laguna XS.2 $3.02 vs $0.2

Laguna XS.2 is $2.82 cheaper on the standard workload (93.4% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Inkling Calculating… Estimated API cost

Laguna XS.2 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 has the lower input price; Laguna XS.2 has the lower output price; Inkling offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Laguna XS.2 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 and $0.2 for Laguna XS.2.

Best Fit

Choose Inkling when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Laguna XS.2 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 is estimated at $0.2 vs $3.02 for Inkling, saving $2.82 (93.4% lower).
Laguna XS.2 is $2.82 cheaper on the standard workload (93.4% lower).
Laguna XS.2 is $0.9 cheaper per 1M input tokens (90% lower; 10x difference).
Laguna XS.2 is $3.85 cheaper per 1M output tokens (95.1% lower; 20.2x difference).
Inkling has 786.43K more context (4x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Inkling (Thinking Machines)	Laguna XS.2 (Poolside)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$1	$0.1
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$4.05	$0.2
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$3.02	$0.2
Context Window	1.05M	262.14K
Release Date	2026-07-17	2026-04-28

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Laguna XS.2	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Laguna XS.2 is estimated at $0.2 vs $3.02 for Inkling, saving $2.82 (93.4% lower).
High-volume input processing	Laguna XS.2	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Laguna XS.2	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Inkling	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 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Inkling (free) can replace Inkling when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Inkling Small can replace Inkling when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.05.
Laguna S 2.1 (free) can replace Laguna XS.2 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.

Open cheapest models

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

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

Inkling 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,...

Laguna XS.2

Laguna XS.2 is the second-generation model in the XS size class from [Poolside](https://poolside.ai/), their efficient coding agent series. It combines tool calling and reasoning capabilities with a compact footprint, offering...