Model comparison

Laguna S 2.1 vs MAI-Thinking-1

Data verified July 21, 2026

Head-to-head evidence from 3 shared benchmark results across 2 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

Laguna S 2.1

Poolside

N/A

No comparison

MAI-Thinking-1

Microsoft

N/A

1 category wins1 category wins

Evidence parity. Laguna S 2.1 and MAI-Thinking-1 share 3 comparable benchmark results. 2 of 8 categories are comparable. 3 results are unique to Laguna S 2.1; 10 to MAI-Thinking-1.

Updated July 21, 2026

Shared results: 3
Laguna S 2.1 only: 3
MAI-Thinking-1 only: 10
Comparable categories: 2 / 8

Treat this as a split decision. Laguna S 2.1 makes more sense if agentic is the priority or you need the larger 1M context window; MAI-Thinking-1 is the better fit if coding is the priority.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 3 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

Laguna S 2.1 and MAI-Thinking-1 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.

Laguna S 2.1 gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 256K for MAI-Thinking-1.

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 Laguna S 2.1 and MAI-Thinking-1
Category	Laguna S 2.1	Δ	MAI-Thinking-1
Agentic	Laguna S 2.170.2	Margin← 24.2	MAI-Thinking-146.0
Coding	Laguna S 2.159.4	Margin→ 6.1	MAI-Thinking-165.5
Knowledge	Laguna S 2.1Not measured	MarginNo overlap	MAI-Thinking-172.5
Math	Laguna S 2.1Not measured	MarginNo overlap	MAI-Thinking-189.7
Inst. Following	Laguna S 2.1Not measured	MarginNo overlap	MAI-Thinking-185.0

Decisive benchmark drivers

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

A · Laguna S 2.1B · MAI-Thinking-1

Terminal-Bench 2.0
Agentic
Source ↗
A 70.2%B 46%
Winner: Laguna S 2.1Δ 24.2
Terminal-Bench 2.0: Laguna S 2.1 scored 70.2%; MAI-Thinking-1 scored 46%. Laguna S 2.1 wins this benchmark.
SWE-bench Pro
Coding
Source ↗
A 59.4%B 52.8%
Winner: Laguna S 2.1Δ 6.6
SWE-bench Pro: Laguna S 2.1 scored 59.4%; MAI-Thinking-1 scored 52.8%. Laguna S 2.1 wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

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

Metric	Laguna S 2.1	MAI-Thinking-1	Comparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens	Laguna S 2.1$0.1 input / $0.2 output	MAI-Thinking-1Not available	A complete price comparison is not available.
Generation speedtokens per second	Laguna S 2.1Not available	MAI-Thinking-1Not available	A complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first token	Laguna S 2.1Not available	MAI-Thinking-1Not available	A complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokens	Laguna S 2.11M	MAI-Thinking-1256K	Laguna S 2.1 lists the larger context window.

Benchmark Deep Dive

AgenticLaguna S 2.1 wins

2 benchmarks

Benchmark	Laguna S 2.1	MAI-Thinking-1	Result
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source	70.2%	46%	Laguna S 2.1 leads
Toolathlon-VerifiedSource	49.7%	—	Not comparable

CodingMAI-Thinking-1 wins

5 benchmarks

Benchmark	Laguna S 2.1	MAI-Thinking-1	Result
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source	70.2%	46.0%	Laguna S 2.1 leads
SWE MultilingualSource	78.5%	—	Not comparable
SWE-bench ProSource	59.4%	52.8%	Laguna S 2.1 leads
deepSweSource	40.4%	—	Not comparable
SWE-bench VerifiedSource	—	73.5%	Not comparable

Reasoning

1 benchmarks

Benchmark	Laguna S 2.1	MAI-Thinking-1	Result
Graphwalks BFS 128KSource	—	90%	Not comparable

Knowledge

4 benchmarks

Benchmark	Laguna S 2.1	MAI-Thinking-1	Result
GPQASource	—	84.2%	Not comparable
GPQA-DSource	—	84.2%	Not comparable
MMLU-ProSource	—	85%	Not comparable
SimpleQASource	—	31%	Not comparable

Math

3 benchmarks

Benchmark	Laguna S 2.1	MAI-Thinking-1	Result
AIME 2025Source	—	97%	Not comparable
AIME26Source	—	94.5%	Not comparable
HMMT Feb 2026Source	—	84.9%	Not comparable

Inst. Following

1 benchmarks

Benchmark	Laguna S 2.1	MAI-Thinking-1	Result
IFBenchSource	—	85%	Not comparable

Frequently Asked Questions (3)

Which is better, Laguna S 2.1 or MAI-Thinking-1?

Laguna S 2.1 and MAI-Thinking-1 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, Laguna S 2.1 or MAI-Thinking-1?

MAI-Thinking-1 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 65.5 versus 59.4. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for agentic tasks, Laguna S 2.1 or MAI-Thinking-1?

Laguna S 2.1 has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 70.2 versus 46. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Related Comparisons

Explore More

Poolside Compare Pricing Methodology Find Your Best LLM Overall Rankings

Last updated: July 21, 2026

Choose a model with this week’s evidence

Join 2,000+ readers for ranking moves, pricing changes, and the claims that still need proof.

One email each week. Unsubscribe anytime.