LongCat-2.5 vs Muse Spark 1.3
Meituan · China | Meta · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick LongCat-2.5 for native multimodal upgrade to longcat-2.0 - 1.6t total parameters, about 48b active per token or limited-time api price of $0.30/$1.20 per million tokens (cached input $0.006). 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, LongCat-2.5 is the value pick.
LongCat-2.5 (Meituan, China) and Muse Spark 1.3 (Meta, US) line up two different AI ecosystems against each other — a comparison that is as much about cost philosophy and openness as raw capability. LongCat-2.5 is meituan's November 2, 2026 natively multimodal successor to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T parameters and 1M context at $0.30/$1.20, with open weights planned but undated. 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
- ▸Price: LongCat-2.5 is about 4.2× cheaper on input ($0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens vs $1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
- ▸Context window: both advertise 1M tokens (~1,500 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
- ▸Recency: LongCat-2.5 is the newer model by about 2 months (released November 2, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
- ▸Ecosystem: this is a China-vs-US matchup — they differ in pricing philosophy, data-residency options, and tooling ecosystems, not only benchmarks.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | LongCat-2.5 | Muse Spark 1.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Meituan (China) | Meta (US) |
| Released | November 2, 2026 | September 2, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens | $1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, image, code | text, image, video |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | 98.1% |
Who wins what
Native multimodal upgrade to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T total parameters, about 48B active per token
LongCat-2.5
Meituan's November 2, 2026 natively multimodal successor to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T parameters and 1M context at $0.30/$1.20, with open weights planned but undated — and it runs cheaper at $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens.
Limited-time API price of $0.30/$1.20 per million tokens (cached input $0.006)
LongCat-2.5
At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens it undercuts Muse Spark 1.3 ($1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Meituan-reported Terminal-Bench v2.1 of 88.4, up from 70.8 for LongCat-2.0
LongCat-2.5
Muse Spark 1.3 is comparatively weak here — no official SWE-bench Verified score published
Agentic coding with ~20% fewer tool calls and ~25% fewer tokens than Muse Spark 1.2
Muse Spark 1.3
Muse Spark 1.3 lists agentic coding with ~20% fewer tool calls and ~25% fewer tokens than Muse Spark 1.2 among its strengths; LongCat-2.5 does not.
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; LongCat-2.5 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; LongCat-2.5 does not.
Lowest cost at scale
LongCat-2.5
At $0.3/$1.2 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
→ LongCat-2.5
At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens it undercuts Muse Spark 1.3, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Anyone whose priority is native multimodal upgrade to longcat-2.0 - 1.6t total parameters, about 48b active per token
→ LongCat-2.5
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.
An enterprise with regional data-residency rules
→ Muse Spark 1.3 or LongCat-2.5
Origin (China vs US) affects where data is processed and which compliance regime applies — check the provider's terms for your region.
LongCat-2.5: where it fits
Meituan's November 2, 2026 natively multimodal successor to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T parameters and 1M context at $0.30/$1.20, with open weights planned but undated. Released November 2, 2026 by Meituan, it is built for native multimodal upgrade to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T total parameters, about 48B active per token, limited-time API price of $0.30/$1.20 per million tokens (cached input $0.006), meituan-reported Terminal-Bench v2.1 of 88.4, up from 70.8 for LongCat-2.0, and openAI- and Anthropic-compatible API endpoints with a 1M-token context window.
Its trade-offs are real: aPI-only for now - GitHub and Hugging Face releases are planned but undated, and the license is unconfirmed (LongCat-2.0 is MIT), the $0.30/$1.20 rate is labeled limited-time, and Meituan says prices are subject to change, and benchmarks are Meituan's own, and sources found no independent score at launch. At $0.3 in / $1.2 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget 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
This is less "which is smarter" and more "which ecosystem fits." LongCat-2.5 (China) and Muse Spark 1.3 (US) differ on pricing philosophy, data-residency, and tooling as much as on raw scores. LongCat-2.5 is the cheaper option, which matters at volume. The pragmatic move is to run one real task through both and judge the outputs against your own constraints — including where your data is allowed to be processed.
Want both LongCat-2.5 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 pricingFrequently asked questions
Is LongCat-2.5 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, LongCat-2.5 leans toward native multimodal upgrade to longcat-2.0 - 1.6t total parameters, about 48b active per token 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, LongCat-2.5 or Muse Spark 1.3?
LongCat-2.5 is cheaper — $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens vs $1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens, roughly 4.2× 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 LongCat-2.5 and Muse Spark 1.3 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you LongCat-2.5, 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, LongCat-2.5 or Muse Spark 1.3?
LongCat-2.5 — released November 2, 2026, about 2 months 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.