API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewSolar Mini 4 vs Laguna S 2.1

Pick Solar Mini 4 for lower cost; pick Laguna S 2.1 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 Solar Mini 4 for lower cost; pick Laguna S 2.1 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.18 for Laguna S 2.1, saving $0.03 (16.7% lower).

Cost-first pickSolar Mini 4

Context-first pickLaguna S 2.1

Sample savings$0.0316.7%

10x traffic gap$0.3

Laguna S 2.1 has more context, but Solar Mini 4 saves $0.03 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.3. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Solar Mini 4, balanced workload favors Solar Mini 4, and output-heavy chatbot favors Laguna S 2.1.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Solar Mini 4	Laguna S 2.1
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Solar Mini 4	$0.35	$0.54
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Solar Mini 4	$0.25	$0.27
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Laguna S 2.1	$1.05	$0.99

Cheaper input Solar Mini 4 $0.05 vs $0.09 / 1M

Solar Mini 4 is $0.04 cheaper per 1M input tokens (44.4% lower; 1.8x difference).

Cheaper output Laguna S 2.1 $0.2 vs $0.18 / 1M

Laguna S 2.1 is $0.02 cheaper per 1M output tokens (10% lower; 1.11x difference).

Larger context Laguna S 2.1 524.29K vs 1.05M

Laguna S 2.1 has 524.29K more context (2x larger).

Sample workload Solar Mini 4 $0.15 vs $0.18

Solar Mini 4 is $0.03 cheaper on the standard workload (16.7% lower).

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

Laguna S 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

Solar Mini 4 has the lower input price; Laguna S 2.1 has the lower output price; Laguna S 2.1 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Solar Mini 4 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 $0.18 for Laguna S 2.1.

Best Fit

Choose Solar Mini 4 when you care most about lower input-token price.

Choose Laguna S 2.1 when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.18 for Laguna S 2.1, saving $0.03 (16.7% lower).
Solar Mini 4 is $0.03 cheaper on the standard workload (16.7% lower).
Solar Mini 4 is $0.04 cheaper per 1M input tokens (44.4% lower; 1.8x difference).
Laguna S 2.1 is $0.02 cheaper per 1M output tokens (10% lower; 1.11x difference).
Laguna S 2.1 has 524.29K more context (2x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewSolar Mini 4 (Upstage)	Laguna S 2.1 (Poolside)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.05	$0.09
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.2	$0.18
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.15	$0.18
Context Window	524.29K	1.05M
Release Date	2026-09-23	2026-07-21

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Solar Mini 4	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.18 for Laguna S 2.1, saving $0.03 (16.7% lower).
High-volume input processing	Solar Mini 4	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Laguna S 2.1	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Laguna S 2.1	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Laguna S 2.1 (free) can replace Laguna S 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Laguna XS 2.1 (free) can replace Laguna S 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Laguna XS.2 (free) can replace Laguna S 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Laguna M.1 (free) can replace Laguna S 2.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.

Larger context near this budget

GLM Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
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.

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

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

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Upstage catalog

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

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Poolside catalog

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

Open Poolside models

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...

Laguna S 2.1

Laguna S 2.1 is the latest coding agent model from [Poolside](<https://poolside.ai/>). Laguna S 2.1 is a 118B total parameter model with 8B active parameters, scoring 70.2% on Terminal-Bench 2.1 and...