QUICK VERDICT — AUGUST 1, 2026
● Terminal-Bench 2.1: V4 Flash 0731 — 82.7% vs Laguna 70.2%
● Input price: Laguna — $0.10/M vs V4 Flash $0.14/M
● Output price: Laguna — $0.20/M vs V4 Flash $0.28/M
● Hardware minimum: Laguna — DGX Spark (desktop). V4 Flash — larger VRAM requirement.
● Codex/Responses API: V4 Flash 0731 — native. Laguna — standard API.
● License: V4 Flash — MIT. Laguna — OpenMDW (Linux Foundation). Both permissive — verify commercial terms.
● Regulatory risk: V4 Flash — no active sanctions (unlike Moonshot). Laguna — US company (Poolside), no concerns.
V4 Flash 0731 for: Teams already using DeepSeek or OpenAI Responses API — zero migration. Higher Terminal-Bench score (82.7% vs 70.2%). Codex-compatible by default. If you are migrating from deepseek-chat or deepseek-reasoner before October 24, V4 Flash 0731 is the direct replacement.
Laguna S 2.1 for: Teams that need the cheapest possible per-token cost (30% cheaper on input and output), DGX Spark desktop deployment, and Western-company provenance with no China connection. The right choice if hardware accessibility is a constraint — Laguna runs on a single DGX Spark vs V4 Flash's larger server requirements.
Last updated August 1, 2026. Related: V4 Flash 0731 full review → · Laguna S 2.1 full review →