Laguna S 2.1 vs Qwen3.8 Max
Qwen3.8 Max leads the LLM Stats Score 53.0 to 41.4. Laguna S 2.1 is 19.8x cheaper per token.
Poolside · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Qwen3.8 Max leads the overall LLM Stats Score 53.0 to 41.4, ranking #8 overall.
In the 4 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Qwen3.8 Max wins 4; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Laguna S 2.1 is roughly 19.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Laguna S 2.1 also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Laguna S 2.1
- cost matters — it's about 19.8x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
Choose Qwen3.8 Max
- overall performance matters — it scores 53.0 and ranks #8 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and agents — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 4 of 4 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
6 reported for Laguna S 2.1 · 42 for Qwen3.8 Max
Laguna S 2.1 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3.8 Max is better at 4 benchmarks (DeepSWE 1.1, SWE-Bench Pro, Terminal-Bench 2.1, Toolathlon).
Qwen3.8 Max significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Laguna S 2.1 ($0.10/1M tokens) is 16.5x cheaper than Qwen3.8 Max ($1.65/1M tokens).
For output processing, Laguna S 2.1 ($0.20/1M tokens) is 24.8x cheaper than Qwen3.8 Max ($4.95/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3.8 Max is more expensive than Laguna S 2.1.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3.8 Max has 2282.0B more parameters than Laguna S 2.1, making it 1933.9% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Laguna S 2.1 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Qwen3.8 Max's 256,000 tokens. Only Qwen3.8 Max specifies output context (131,072 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Qwen3.8 Max supports multimodal inputs, whereas Laguna S 2.1 does not.
Qwen3.8 Max can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Laguna S 2.1
Qwen3.8 Max
License
Usage and distribution terms
Laguna S 2.1 is licensed under OpenMDW License v1.1, while Qwen3.8 Max uses Qwen3.8-Max License.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
OpenMDW License v1.1
Open weights
Qwen3.8-Max License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Laguna S 2.1 was released on 2026-07-21, while Qwen3.8 Max was released on 2026-08-02.
Qwen3.8 Max is 0 month newer than Laguna S 2.1.
Jul 21, 2026
1 months ago
Aug 2, 2026
3 weeks ago
1w newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Laguna S 2.1 is available from Poolside. Qwen3.8 Max is available from DeepInfra, Fireworks, Novita, Together.
Laguna S 2.1
Qwen3.8 Max
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Laguna S 2.1 and Qwen3.8 Max side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Laguna S 2.1 vs Qwen3.8 Max.