Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs Laguna XS 2.1: Specs & Benchmark Comparison
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is developed by Google, while Laguna XS 2.1 comes from Poolside. Both were released in July 2026. Laguna XS 2.1 has a published size of about 33 billion parameters; Google has not disclosed the parameter count of Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite.
We have 6 benchmark results for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and 4 benchmark results for Laguna XS 2.1, but they overlap on a single test: SWE-Bench Pro, where Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scores 54.2% against 47.6%.
Laguna XS 2.1 is the cheaper API at $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.20 per million output tokens, roughly 3 times cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite at $0.30 and $2.50. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite takes the larger context window at 1M tokens, compared with 262K for Laguna XS 2.1. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite accepts text and images as input, while Laguna XS 2.1 accepts text. On tooling, only Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite supports function calling and only Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite offers structured output.
| Characteristic | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | Laguna XS 2.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Poolside | |
| Release Date | July 21, 2026 | July 2, 2026 |
| Parameters | — | 33B |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Context (input) | 1.0M | 262K |
| Context (output) | 66K | — |
| Input Price / 1M | $0.30 | $0.10 |
| Output Price / 1M | $2.50 | $0.20 |
| Average Score | 53.2% | 54.8% |
| Benchmarks | ||
| SWE-Bench Pro | 54.2% | 47.6% |
Visual Benchmark Comparison
Verdict
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite leads in 2 out of 4 comparison categories.
Both models show comparable average scores: Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite — 0.5, Laguna XS 2.1 — 0.5.
Laguna XS 2.1 is 9.3x cheaper: input $0.10/1M vs $0.30/1M tokens.
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite supports a larger context: 1M vs 262K tokens.
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is newer: released 7/21/2026 vs 7/2/2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better for coding — Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Laguna XS 2.1?
Which model is cheaper — Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Laguna XS 2.1?
Which has a larger context window — Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Laguna XS 2.1?
The Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Laguna XS 2.1 comparison is updated for 2026. Data includes benchmark results, API pricing, context window size and other specifications. For more detailed information, visit the Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Laguna XS 2.1 page. See also the complete list of AI model comparisons.