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Model comparison

Inkling vs Laguna XS.2

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 4 shared benchmark results across 2 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

Thinking Machines Lab
69/100
Margin
23.0pts
← winning
Poolside
46/100
2 category wins0 category wins

Verified leaderboard positions: Inkling #17; Laguna XS.2 unranked

Evidence parity. Inkling and Laguna XS.2 share 4 comparable benchmark results. 2 of 8 categories are comparable. 12 results are unique to Inkling; 1 to Laguna XS.2.

Updated July 15, 2026
Shared results
4
Inkling only
12
Laguna XS.2 only
1
Comparable categories
2 / 8

Pick Inkling if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Laguna XS.2 only becomes the better choice if you want the cheaper token bill or you want the stronger reasoning-first profile.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 4 shared benchmark results across 2 evidence categories; 2 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.

Why this result

Inkling is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 69 to 46. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

Inkling's sharpest advantage is in agentic, where it averages 69.4 against 35.7. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is Terminal-Bench 2.0, 63.8% to 35.7%.

Inkling is also the more expensive model on tokens at $1.87 input / $4.68 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 Inkling 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. Inkling gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 256K for Laguna XS.2.

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 Inkling and Laguna XS.2
CategoryInklingΔLaguna XS.2
AgenticInkling69.4Margin 33.7Laguna XS.235.7
CodingInkling68.6Margin 7.8Laguna XS.260.8
KnowledgeInkling51.7MarginNo overlapLaguna XS.2Not measured
MathInkling97.1MarginNo overlapLaguna XS.2Not measured
MultimodalInkling76.5MarginNo overlapLaguna XS.2Not measured
Inst. FollowingInkling79.8MarginNo overlapLaguna XS.2Not measured

Decisive benchmark drivers

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

More
A · InklingB · Laguna XS.2
  1. Terminal-Bench 2.0

    Agentic
    Source ↗
    A 63.8%B 35.7%
    Winner: InklingΔ 28.1
    Terminal-Bench 2.0: Inkling scored 63.8%; Laguna XS.2 scored 35.7%. Inkling wins this benchmark.
  2. SWE-bench Pro

    Coding
    Source ↗
    A 54.3%B 46.3%
    Winner: InklingΔ 8
    SWE-bench Pro: Inkling scored 54.3%; Laguna XS.2 scored 46.3%. Inkling wins this benchmark.
  3. SWE-bench Verified

    Coding
    Source ↗
    A 77.6%B 69.9%
    Winner: InklingΔ 7.7
    SWE-bench Verified: Inkling scored 77.6%; Laguna XS.2 scored 69.9%. Inkling wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

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

MetricInklingLaguna XS.2Comparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensInkling$1.87 input / $4.68 outputLaguna XS.2$0 input / $0 outputLaguna XS.2 has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondInklingNot availableLaguna XS.2Not availableA complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenInklingNot availableLaguna XS.2Not availableA complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensInkling1MLaguna XS.2256KInkling lists the larger context window.

Benchmark Deep Dive

AgenticInkling wins
BenchmarkInklingLaguna XS.2Result
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 63.8%35.7%Inkling leads
BrowseCompSource 77.1%Not comparable
MCP AtlasSource 74.1%Not comparable
Design Arena Agentic Web DevSource 1258Not comparable
CodingInkling wins
BenchmarkInklingLaguna XS.2Result
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 77.6%69.9%Inkling leads
SWE-bench ProSource 54.3%46.3%Inkling leads
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 63.8%35.7%Inkling leads
SWE MultilingualSource 57.7%Not comparable
Knowledge
BenchmarkInklingLaguna XS.2Result
GPQASource 87.9%Not comparable
GPQA-DSource 87.9%Not comparable
HLESource 46%Not comparable
HLE w/o toolsSource 30%Not comparable
Math
BenchmarkInklingLaguna XS.2Result
AIME26Source 97.1%Not comparable
Multimodal
BenchmarkInklingLaguna XS.2Result
MMMU-ProSource 73.5%Not comparable
CharXivSource 82%Not comparable
CharXiv w/o toolsSource 78.1%Not comparable
Inst. Following
BenchmarkInklingLaguna XS.2Result
IFBenchSource 79.8%Not comparable
Frequently Asked Questions (3)

Which is better, Inkling or Laguna XS.2?

Inkling is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 69 to 46. The biggest single separator in this matchup is Terminal-Bench 2.0, where the scores are 63.8% and 35.7%.

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

Inkling has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 68.6 versus 60.8. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for agentic tasks, Inkling or Laguna XS.2?

Inkling has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 69.4 versus 35.7. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

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Last updated: July 15, 2026

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