Fugu Max vs Muse Spark 1.3

Sakana AI · Global  |  Meta · US · 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 Muse Spark 1.3 for agentic coding with ~20% fewer tool calls and ~25% fewer tokens than muse spark 1.2 or deepswe v1.1 long-horizon software engineering (75.4). On a tight budget at scale, Muse Spark 1.3 is the value pick.

Fugu Max (Sakana AI) and Muse Spark 1.3 (Meta) 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. Muse Spark 1.3 is meta's September 2, 2026 agentic-coding model update, cutting tool calls and token usage versus Muse Spark 1.2 while its highest-reasoning mode remains gated for safety review. Their biggest split is price, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.

Key differences at a glance

Side-by-side specs

SpecFugu MaxMuse Spark 1.3
ProviderSakana AI (Global) Meta (US)
ReleasedSeptember 10, 2026 September 2, 2026
Context window1M tokens (~1,500 pages) 1M tokens (~1,500 pages)
Price (in/out)$2/$6 per 1M tokens $1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens
Open weight?No — API only No — API only
Modalitiestext text, image, video
SWE-Bench VerifiedNot published Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1MNot published 98.1%

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 is the newer of the two.

1M-token context window at $2/$6 per million tokens

Fugu Max

Fugu Max lists 1M-token context window at $2/$6 per million tokens among its strengths; Muse Spark 1.3 does not.

OpenAI-compatible API — drop-in replacement for single-model integrations

Fugu Max

Fugu Max lists openAI-compatible API — drop-in replacement for single-model integrations among its strengths; Muse Spark 1.3 does not.

Agentic coding with ~20% fewer tool calls and ~25% fewer tokens than Muse Spark 1.2

Muse Spark 1.3

Meta's September 2, 2026 agentic-coding model update, cutting tool calls and token usage versus Muse Spark 1.2 while its highest-reasoning mode remains gated for safety review — and it runs cheaper at $1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens.

DeepSWE v1.1 long-horizon software engineering (75.4)

Muse Spark 1.3

Muse Spark 1.3 lists deepSWE v1.1 long-horizon software engineering (75.4) among its strengths; Fugu Max does not.

Near-perfect long-context retrieval (MRCR v2 512K-1M: 98.1)

Muse Spark 1.3

Muse Spark 1.3 lists near-perfect long-context retrieval (MRCR v2 512K-1M: 98.1) among its strengths; Fugu Max does not.

Lowest cost at scale

Muse Spark 1.3

At $1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.

Which should you pick?

A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume

Muse Spark 1.3

At $1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens it undercuts Fugu Max, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.

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 agentic coding with ~20% fewer tool calls and ~25% fewer tokens than muse spark 1.2

Muse Spark 1.3

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.

Muse Spark 1.3: where it fits

Meta's September 2, 2026 agentic-coding model update, cutting tool calls and token usage versus Muse Spark 1.2 while its highest-reasoning mode remains gated for safety review. Released September 2, 2026 by Meta, it is built for agentic coding with ~20% fewer tool calls and ~25% fewer tokens than Muse Spark 1.2, deepSWE v1.1 long-horizon software engineering (75.4), near-perfect long-context retrieval (MRCR v2 512K-1M: 98.1), and ranks third overall on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (score 61, xhigh variant; the limited-preview max variant scores 62) - behind only Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Opus 5.

Its trade-offs: strongest 'max' reasoning configuration still gated pending additional safety testing, not yet open-weight, despite Meta roadmapping a future Muse Spark weights release, and no official SWE-bench Verified score published. At $1.25 in / $4.25 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.

The bottom line for this matchup

Fugu Max and Muse Spark 1.3 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Muse Spark 1.3 costs less per token; 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%, Muse Spark 1.3 for agentic coding with ~20% fewer tool calls and ~25% fewer tokens than muse spark 1.2. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.

Want both Fugu Max and Muse Spark 1.3 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 pricing

Frequently asked questions

Is Fugu Max or Muse Spark 1.3 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 Muse Spark 1.3 leans toward agentic coding with ~20% fewer tool calls and ~25% fewer tokens than muse spark 1.2, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.

Which is cheaper, Fugu Max or Muse Spark 1.3?

Muse Spark 1.3 is cheaper — $2/$6 per 1M tokens vs $1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens, roughly 1.6× apart on input.

Which has the bigger context window?

Both advertise 1M tokens (~1,500 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.

Can I use both Fugu Max and Muse Spark 1.3 together?

Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Fugu Max, Muse Spark 1.3 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 Muse Spark 1.3?

Fugu Max — released September 10, 2026, about 8 days after Muse Spark 1.3.

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.