Fugu Max vs Ling 3.1 Flash
Sakana AI · Global | InclusionAI (Ant Group) · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Fugu Max for cost-efficient multi-agent orchestration — undercuts claude sonnet 5 and kimi k3 on output cost by a claimed 40-60% or 1m-token context window at $2/$6 per million tokens. Pick Ling 3.1 Flash for hybrid-reasoning moe — 560b total parameters, ~25b active per token, aimed at agents, tool use, and long-document work or artificial analysis intelligence index score of 41 — above average for its price tier. On a tight budget at scale, Ling 3.1 Flash is the value pick.
Fugu Max (Sakana AI) and Ling 3.1 Flash (InclusionAI (Ant Group)) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Fugu Max is sakana AI's cost-first multi-agent orchestration model — not a single trained model, but a routed pool of models behind one API, priced at $2/$6 per million tokens. Ling 3.1 Flash is inclusionAI's (Ant Group) September 30, 2026 hybrid-reasoning MoE model — 560B parameters aimed at agents and long documents, launched as a free trial with weights still unreleased. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: Ling 3.1 Flash is about 6.7× cheaper on input ($0.3/$0.9 per 1M tokens vs $2/$6 per 1M tokens) — a large enough gap that at scale it can be the single biggest line item in the decision.
- ▸Context window: Fugu Max holds 3.8× more — 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) vs 262K tokens (~393 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
- ▸Recency: Ling 3.1 Flash is the newer model by about 20 days (released September 30, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Fugu Max | Ling 3.1 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Sakana AI (Global) | InclusionAI (Ant Group) (China) |
| Released | September 10, 2026 | September 30, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) | 262K tokens (~393 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $2/$6 per 1M tokens | $0.3/$0.9 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text | text, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Cost-efficient multi-agent orchestration — undercuts Claude Sonnet 5 and Kimi K3 on output cost by a claimed 40-60%
Fugu Max
Sakana AI's cost-first multi-agent orchestration model — not a single trained model, but a routed pool of models behind one API, priced at $2/$6 per million tokens — and it carries the larger 1M tokens context.
1M-token context window at $2/$6 per million tokens
Fugu Max
Its 1M tokens window holds about 3.8× more than Ling 3.1 Flash's 262K tokens in a single prompt.
OpenAI-compatible API — drop-in replacement for single-model integrations
Fugu Max
Ling 3.1 Flash is comparatively weak here — shipped as an announcement plus a two-week free trial rather than a full release — no weights, no model card, and limited independent verification at launch
Hybrid-reasoning MoE — 560B total parameters, ~25B active per token, aimed at agents, tool use, and long-document work
Ling 3.1 Flash
Fugu Max is comparatively weak here — the cheaper sibling to Fugu Ultra v2 — lower ceiling on the hardest reasoning tasks
Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index score of 41 — above average for its price tier
Ling 3.1 Flash
At $0.3/$0.9 per 1M tokens it undercuts Fugu Max ($2/$6 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
First-party pricing of $0.30/$0.90 per million tokens, with an 80% cache-read discount ($0.06/MTok)
Ling 3.1 Flash
Fugu Max is comparatively weak here — a young, first-generation product from Sakana AI's orchestration approach, unproven at scale versus established frontier labs
Lowest cost at scale
Ling 3.1 Flash
At $0.3/$0.9 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input
Fugu Max
Its 1M tokens window is about 3.8× larger than Ling 3.1 Flash's 262K tokens, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Ling 3.1 Flash
At $0.3/$0.9 per 1M tokens it undercuts Fugu Max, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Fugu Max
Larger 1M tokens window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is cost-efficient multi-agent orchestration — undercuts claude sonnet 5 and kimi k3 on output cost by a claimed 40-60%
→ Fugu Max
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is hybrid-reasoning moe — 560b total parameters, ~25b active per token, aimed at agents, tool use, and long-document work
→ Ling 3.1 Flash
That is its strongest area.
Fugu Max: where it fits
Sakana AI's cost-first multi-agent orchestration model — not a single trained model, but a routed pool of models behind one API, priced at $2/$6 per million tokens. Released September 10, 2026 by Sakana AI, it is built for cost-efficient multi-agent orchestration — undercuts Claude Sonnet 5 and Kimi K3 on output cost by a claimed 40-60%, 1M-token context window at $2/$6 per million tokens, and openAI-compatible API — drop-in replacement for single-model integrations.
Its trade-offs are real: not a single trained model — Sakana describes Fugu as "a Multi-Agent System, Delivered as One Model" that routes tasks across a pool of other models, so raw benchmark comparisons to monolithic models can be misleading, the cheaper sibling to Fugu Ultra v2 — lower ceiling on the hardest reasoning tasks, and a young, first-generation product from Sakana AI's orchestration approach, unproven at scale versus established frontier labs. At $2 in / $6 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
Ling 3.1 Flash: where it fits
InclusionAI's (Ant Group) September 30, 2026 hybrid-reasoning MoE model — 560B parameters aimed at agents and long documents, launched as a free trial with weights still unreleased. Released September 30, 2026 by InclusionAI (Ant Group), it is built for hybrid-reasoning MoE — 560B total parameters, ~25B active per token, aimed at agents, tool use, and long-document work, artificial Analysis Intelligence Index score of 41 — above average for its price tier, first-party pricing of $0.30/$0.90 per million tokens, with an 80% cache-read discount ($0.06/MTok), and predecessor Ling 3.0 Flash shipped MIT-licensed open weights, suggesting a similar path once 3.1 clears review.
Its trade-offs: shipped as an announcement plus a two-week free trial rather than a full release — no weights, no model card, and limited independent verification at launch, context window currently served at 262K tokens even though InclusionAI's stated target is 1M — the larger window isn't live yet, not yet open-weight despite InclusionAI saying it plans to open-source the model 'soon', and announced via WeChat rather than a formal English-language technical report, so some specs are vendor-reported only. At $0.3 in / $0.9 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Fugu Max and Ling 3.1 Flash overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Ling 3.1 Flash costs less per token; Fugu Max holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Fugu Max for cost-efficient multi-agent orchestration — undercuts claude sonnet 5 and kimi k3 on output cost by a claimed 40-60%, Ling 3.1 Flash for hybrid-reasoning moe — 560b total parameters, ~25b active per token, aimed at agents, tool use, and long-document work. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Fugu Max and Ling 3.1 Flash without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is Fugu Max or Ling 3.1 Flash better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Fugu Max leans toward cost-efficient multi-agent orchestration — undercuts claude sonnet 5 and kimi k3 on output cost by a claimed 40-60% while Ling 3.1 Flash leans toward hybrid-reasoning moe — 560b total parameters, ~25b active per token, aimed at agents, tool use, and long-document work, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Fugu Max or Ling 3.1 Flash?
Ling 3.1 Flash is cheaper — $2/$6 per 1M tokens vs $0.3/$0.9 per 1M tokens, roughly 6.7× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Fugu Max — 1M tokens vs 262K tokens, about 3.8× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Fugu Max and Ling 3.1 Flash together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Fugu Max, Ling 3.1 Flash and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Fugu Max or Ling 3.1 Flash?
Ling 3.1 Flash — released September 30, 2026, about 20 days after Fugu Max.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.