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Model comparison

DeepSeek V3 vs Laguna XS.2

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 1 shared benchmark result across 1 category. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

DeepSeek
44.15/100
No comparison
Poolside
N/A
0 category wins1 category wins

Public leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V3 #154 (Supported); Laguna XS.2 unranked (Not scored). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. DeepSeek V3 and Laguna XS.2 share 1 comparable benchmark result. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 21 results are unique to DeepSeek V3; 4 to Laguna XS.2.

Updated July 27, 2026
Shared results
1
DeepSeek V3 only
21
Laguna XS.2 only
4
Comparable categories
1 / 8

Treat this as a split decision. DeepSeek V3 makes more sense if you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model; Laguna XS.2 is the better fit if coding is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 1 shared benchmark result across 1 evidence category; 1 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.

Why this result

DeepSeek V3 and Laguna XS.2 finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.

DeepSeek V3 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $0.27 input / $1.10 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.00 input / $0.00 output per 1M tokens for Laguna XS.2. That is roughly Infinityx on output cost alone. Laguna XS.2 is the reasoning model in the pair, while DeepSeek V3 is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use. Laguna XS.2 gives you the larger context window at 256K, compared with 128K for DeepSeek V3.

Category breakdown

Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.

Category scores and score margins for DeepSeek V3 and Laguna XS.2
CategoryDeepSeek V3ΔLaguna XS.2
CodingDeepSeek V338.9Margin 21.9Laguna XS.260.8
AgenticDeepSeek V3Not measuredMarginNo overlapLaguna XS.235.7
KnowledgeDeepSeek V372.7MarginNo overlapLaguna XS.2Not measured
MathDeepSeek V31.7MarginNo overlapLaguna XS.2Not measured
Inst. FollowingDeepSeek V386.1MarginNo overlapLaguna XS.2Not measured

Decisive benchmark drivers

The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.

More
A · DeepSeek V3B · Laguna XS.2
  1. SWE-bench Verified

    Coding
    Source ↗
    A 42%B 69.9%
    Winner: Laguna XS.2Δ 27.9
    SWE-bench Verified: DeepSeek V3 scored 42%; Laguna XS.2 scored 69.9%. Laguna XS.2 wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.

MetricDeepSeek V3Laguna XS.2Comparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensDeepSeek V3$0.27 input / $1.1 outputLaguna XS.2$0 input / $0 outputLaguna XS.2 has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondDeepSeek V3Not availableLaguna XS.2Not availableA complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenDeepSeek V3Not availableLaguna XS.2Not availableA complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensDeepSeek V3128KLaguna XS.2256KLaguna XS.2 lists the larger context window.

Benchmark Deep Dive

Agentic
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Laguna XS.2Result
AA Agentic IndexSource 1.6%Not comparable
τ²-bench resultsSource 22.8%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource 0.0%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource 231Not comparable
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 35.7%Not comparable
CodingLaguna XS.2 wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Laguna XS.2Result
LiveCodeBenchSource 37.6%Not comparable
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 42%69.9%Laguna XS.2 leads
AA Coding IndexSource 23.0%Not comparable
AA-SciCodeSource 35.4%Not comparable
SWE MultilingualSource 57.7%Not comparable
SWE-bench ProSource 46.3%Not comparable
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 35.7%Not comparable
Reasoning
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Laguna XS.2Result
AA-LCRSource 29.0%Not comparable
CritPtSource 0.0%Not comparable
Knowledge
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Laguna XS.2Result
GPQASource 59.1%Not comparable
MMLU-ProSource 75.9%Not comparable
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource 14.2%Not comparable
AA-GPQA DiamondSource 55.7%Not comparable
AA-HLESource 3.6%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience IndexSource -41.3%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource 25.4%Not comparable
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource 89.4%Not comparable
Math
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Laguna XS.2Result
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)Source 1.724%Not comparable
Multimodal
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Laguna XS.2Result
Design Arena WebsiteSource 1145Not comparable
Inst. Following
BenchmarkDeepSeek V3Laguna XS.2Result
IFEvalSource 86.1%Not comparable
AA-IFBenchSource 34.8%Not comparable
Frequently Asked Questions (2)

Which is better, DeepSeek V3 or Laguna XS.2?

DeepSeek V3 and Laguna XS.2 are tied on the BenchAlign overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.

Which is better for coding, DeepSeek V3 or Laguna XS.2?

Laguna XS.2 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 60.8 versus 38.9. Inside this category, SWE-bench Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Self-host vs API cost

Estimates at 50,000 req/day · 1000 tokens/req average.

DeepSeek V3
API / mo$1,028
Self-host / mo$18,221
Break-even1.2B/day
Laguna XS.2
API / mo$0
Self-host / moNot listed
Break-even
Proprietary model — self-hosting not applicable.
Model the full break-even

Related Comparisons

Last updated: July 27, 2026

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