Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Laguna S 2.1: Specs & Benchmark Comparison

Gemini 3.6 Flash is developed by Google, while Laguna S 2.1 comes from Poolside. Both were released in July 2026. Laguna S 2.1 has a published size of about 118 billion parameters; Google has not disclosed the parameter count of Gemini 3.6 Flash.

The two models share 3 published benchmarks. Gemini 3.6 Flash leads on 2 of them, Laguna S 2.1 on 1. The widest gaps are on DeepSWE 1.1, where Gemini 3.6 Flash scores 49.0% against 40.4%; Terminal-Bench 2.1, where Gemini 3.6 Flash scores 78.0% against 70.2%. Averaged across everything we track, Gemini 3.6 Flash sits at 68.0% and Laguna S 2.1 at 57.4%.

Laguna S 2.1 is the cheaper API at $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.20 per million output tokens, roughly 15 times cheaper than Gemini 3.6 Flash at $1.50 and $7.50. Both accept a context window of about 1M tokens. Gemini 3.6 Flash accepts text and images as input, while Laguna S 2.1 accepts text. On tooling, only Gemini 3.6 Flash supports function calling and only Gemini 3.6 Flash offers structured output.

CharacteristicGemini 3.6 FlashLaguna S 2.1
CompanyGooglePoolside
Release DateJuly 21, 2026July 21, 2026
Parameters118B
MultimodalYesNo
Context (input)1.0M1.0M
Context (output)66K
Input Price / 1M$1.50$0.10
Output Price / 1M$7.50$0.20
Average Score68.0%57.4%
Benchmarks
DeepSWE 1.149.0%40.4%
Terminal-Bench 2.178.0%70.2%
SWE-Bench Pro58.7%59.4%

Visual Benchmark Comparison

Gemini 3.6 Flash
Laguna S 2.1
DeepSWE 1.10.5 vs 0.4
0.5
0.4
Terminal-Bench 2.10.8 vs 0.7
0.8
0.7
SWE-Bench Pro0.6 vs 0.6
0.6
0.6

Verdict

Laguna S 2.1 leads in 1 out of 4 comparison categories.

Overall Performance

Both models show comparable average scores: Gemini 3.6 Flash — 0.7, Laguna S 2.1 — 0.6.

API Cost

Laguna S 2.1 is 30.0x cheaper: input $0.10/1M vs $1.50/1M tokens.

Context Window

Same context size: 1M tokens.

Recency

Both models were released around the same time: 7/21/2026 and 7/21/2026.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for coding — Gemini 3.6 Flash or Laguna S 2.1?
Direct comparison on the SWE-Bench benchmark is not available. We recommend reviewing other metrics on the comparison page.
Which model is cheaper — Gemini 3.6 Flash or Laguna S 2.1?
Laguna S 2.1 is cheaper for input: $0.10 per 1M tokens vs $1.50.
Which has a larger context window — Gemini 3.6 Flash or Laguna S 2.1?
Gemini 3.6 Flash supports a larger context: 1,048,576 tokens vs 1,048,576.

The Gemini 3.6 Flash and Laguna S 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 3.6 Flash or Laguna S 2.1 page. See also the complete list of AI model comparisons.