API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewSolar Mini 4 vs LFM2.5-2.6B (free)

Pick LFM2.5-2.6B (free) for lower cost; pick Solar Mini 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-09-23T11:07:57Z Data confirmed: 2026-09-23T12:07:51Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick LFM2.5-2.6B (free) for lower cost; pick Solar Mini 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, LFM2.5-2.6B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Solar Mini 4, saving $0.15 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickLFM2.5-2.6B (free)

Context-first pickSolar Mini 4

Sample savings$0.15100%

10x traffic gap$1.5

Solar Mini 4 has more context, but LFM2.5-2.6B (free) saves $0.15 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

LFM2.5-2.6B (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Solar Mini 4	LFM2.5-2.6B (free)
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	LFM2.5-2.6B (free)	$0.35	$0
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	LFM2.5-2.6B (free)	$0.25	$0
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	LFM2.5-2.6B (free)	$1.05	$0

Cheaper input LFM2.5-2.6B (free) $0.05 vs $0 / 1M

LFM2.5-2.6B (free) is free for input tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.05 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output LFM2.5-2.6B (free) $0.2 vs $0 / 1M

LFM2.5-2.6B (free) is free for output tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.2 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Solar Mini 4 524.29K vs 65.54K

Solar Mini 4 has 458.75K more context (8x larger).

Sample workload LFM2.5-2.6B (free) $0.15 vs $0

LFM2.5-2.6B (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.15.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Solar Mini 4 Calculating… Estimated API cost

LFM2.5-2.6B (free) 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

LFM2.5-2.6B (free) has the lower input price; LFM2.5-2.6B (free) has the lower output price; Solar Mini 4 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, LFM2.5-2.6B (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.15 for Solar Mini 4 and $0 for LFM2.5-2.6B (free).

Best Fit

Choose Solar Mini 4 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose LFM2.5-2.6B (free) 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, LFM2.5-2.6B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Solar Mini 4, saving $0.15 (100% lower).
LFM2.5-2.6B (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.15.
LFM2.5-2.6B (free) is free for input tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.05 per 1M tokens.
LFM2.5-2.6B (free) is free for output tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.2 per 1M tokens.
Solar Mini 4 has 458.75K more context (8x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewSolar Mini 4 (Upstage)	LFM2.5-2.6B (free) (LiquidAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.05	$0
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.2	$0
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.15	$0
Context Window	524.29K	65.54K
Release Date	2026-09-23	2026-08-11

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	LFM2.5-2.6B (free)	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, LFM2.5-2.6B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Solar Mini 4, saving $0.15 (100% lower).
High-volume input processing	LFM2.5-2.6B (free)	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	LFM2.5-2.6B (free)	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Solar Mini 4	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

No lower-cost same-provider swap is currently tracked for this pair.

Larger context near this budget

GPT-6 Luna Pro (batch) offers 1.05M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
GPT-6 Luna (batch) offers 1.05M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423 offers 1.05M context with $0.18 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

MiMo-V2.6-Pro · Xiaomi · #1
GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #2
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #3
Hy4 preview · Tencent · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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Upstage catalog

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LiquidAI catalog

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Solar Mini 4

Solar Mini 4 is Upstage's compact, cost-efficient language model, a 35B-parameter mixture-of-experts with 3B active parameters and a 524K context window. It is built for agentic use cases where response...

LFM2.5-2.6B (free)

LFM2.5-2.6B is a compact reasoning model from Liquid AI. It is suited for agent workflows, data extraction, RAG, and long-context processing. Liquid advises against using it for agentic coding or...