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Head-to-head comparison

o4 Mini vs Laguna XS 2.1

o4 Mini (OpenAI) and Laguna XS 2.1 (Poolside) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 3 September 2026

As of 3 September 2026, o4 Mini holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#62 vs #208); Laguna XS 2.1 is 36.7× cheaper per output token ($0.12/1M vs $4.40/1M); and Laguna XS 2.1 offers the longer context window (262K vs 200K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose o4 Mini if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #62 against #208 (43.2 vs 2.0 points).

Choose Laguna XS 2.1 if…

  • API cost matters — $0.12/1M output tokens against $4.40/1M, about 36.7× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.06/1M against $1.10/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 262K tokens against 200K.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Laguna XS 2.1 was listed 2 July 2026, o4 Mini 16 April 2025.

o4 Mini vs Laguna XS 2.1: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of o4 Mini and Laguna XS 2.1
Fieldo4 MiniOpenAILaguna XS 2.1Poolside
ModelCap Index position#62#208
Index score43.22.0
EvidenceMeasuredEstimated
Input price / 1M tokens$1.10$0.06
Output price / 1M tokens$4.40$0.12
Context window200K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens100K33K
API providers listed11
Weight accessAPI onlyRestricted license
Input modalitiesImage, Text, FileText
First listed16 April 20252 July 2026
PublisherOpenAIPoolside

Evidence: 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards · placed against measured peers on publisher-reported benchmarks, discounted for self-report optimism. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: o4 Mini vs Laguna XS 2.1

Public benchmark boards where o4 Mini or Laguna XS 2.1 has a published result
Boardo4 MiniLaguna XS 2.1Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14331426–1440—Only one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation6.1%High—Only one result
SWE-benchSWE-bench (Princeton / SWE-agent team)45.0%—Only one result
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)53.2Function calling—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis26.1intelligence-index—Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis55.6%tau2-bench-telecom—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis16.5%humanitys-last-exam—Only one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

o4 Mini vs Laguna XS 2.1: common questions

Is o4 Mini better than Laguna XS 2.1?

o4 Mini ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 3 September 2026: #62 against #208. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it.

Is o4 Mini cheaper than Laguna XS 2.1?

Laguna XS 2.1 is cheaper on output tokens: $0.12/1M against $4.40/1M. Input tokens are $1.10/1M for o4 Mini and $0.06/1M for Laguna XS 2.1. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, o4 Mini or Laguna XS 2.1?

Laguna XS 2.1 has the larger context window: 262K tokens against 200K.

Which is better for coding, o4 Mini or Laguna XS 2.1?

The two models do not share a coding benchmark board on ModelCap yet, so no head-to-head coding score is published; the ModelCap Index position is the closest overall signal.

Are o4 Mini and Laguna XS 2.1 open-weight models?

o4 Mini: API only. Laguna XS 2.1: Restricted license. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run o4 Mini and Laguna XS 2.1?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for o4 Mini and 1 for Laguna XS 2.1, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this o4 Mini vs Laguna XS 2.1 comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 3 September 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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