LongCat-2.5 vs Muse Spark Open
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 Open for meta's first open-weight muse model - 816b-parameter moe with 42b active, accepting text, image, video and audio input or artificial analysis intelligence index of 39, first among us open-weight models. Choose Muse Spark Open if you need self-hosting or data privacy; LongCat-2.5 if you want a managed API.
LongCat-2.5 (Meituan, China) and Muse Spark Open (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 Open is meta's October 15, 2026 open-weight Muse Spark - an 816B/42B-active multimodal MoE with a 1M context under a gated Muse Model License. They diverge most on price and open vs. closed weights — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Cost model: Muse Spark Open ships open weights you can self-host (hardware cost only, no per-token fee), while LongCat-2.5 is API-metered at $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens. Your choice depends on whether you want zero marginal cost at the price of running infrastructure.
- ▸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 18 days (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 Open |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Meituan (China) | Meta (US) |
| Released | November 2, 2026 | October 15, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens | Open weight (self-host / free) |
| Open weight? | No — API only | Yes — self-hostable |
| Modalities | text, image, code | text, image, video, audio, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Native multimodal upgrade to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T total parameters, about 48B active per token
LongCat-2.5
Muse Spark Open is comparatively weak here — muse Model License: attribution required and a revenue threshold (reported as about $20M; check the license text) before a separate license is needed
Limited-time API price of $0.30/$1.20 per million tokens (cached input $0.006)
LongCat-2.5
Muse Spark Open is comparatively weak here — needs about 1 TB of memory at 4-bit; no first-party per-token price confirmed
Meituan-reported Terminal-Bench v2.1 of 88.4, up from 70.8 for LongCat-2.0
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 is the newer of the two.
Meta's first open-weight Muse model - 816B-parameter MoE with 42B active, accepting text, image, video and audio input
Muse Spark Open
Open weights make this possible at all — LongCat-2.5 is API-only, so it cannot leave the vendor's servers.
Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index of 39, first among US open-weight models
Muse Spark Open
Meta's October 15, 2026 open-weight Muse Spark - an 816B/42B-active multimodal MoE with a 1M context under a gated Muse Model License — and its weights are open while LongCat-2.5 is API-only.
About 143 output tokens/sec; up to 128K output tokens
Muse Spark Open
Muse Spark Open lists about 143 output tokens/sec; up to 128K output tokens among its strengths; LongCat-2.5 does not.
Lowest cost at scale
Muse Spark Open
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of LongCat-2.5's $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Muse Spark Open
At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts LongCat-2.5, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
A team with data-privacy or self-hosting needs
→ Muse Spark Open
Open weights let you run it on your own hardware; LongCat-2.5 is API-only.
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 meta's first open-weight muse model - 816b-parameter moe with 42b active, accepting text, image, video and audio input
→ Muse Spark Open
That is its strongest area.
An enterprise with regional data-residency rules
→ Muse Spark Open 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 Open: where it fits
Meta's October 15, 2026 open-weight Muse Spark - an 816B/42B-active multimodal MoE with a 1M context under a gated Muse Model License. Released October 15, 2026 by Meta, it is built for meta's first open-weight Muse model - 816B-parameter MoE with 42B active, accepting text, image, video and audio input, artificial Analysis Intelligence Index of 39, first among US open-weight models, and about 143 output tokens/sec; up to 128K output tokens.
Its trade-offs: weakest of the three Muse models (Wonder Full scores 56, Wonder 52), muse Model License: attribution required and a revenue threshold (reported as about $20M; check the license text) before a separate license is needed, and needs about 1 TB of memory at 4-bit; no first-party per-token price confirmed. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
The bottom line for this matchup
The defining split here is open vs. closed. Muse Spark Open gives you weights you control — self-host it, fine-tune it, keep data in-house, pay only for hardware. LongCat-2.5 gives you a managed, always-updated API with no infrastructure to run. Teams with GPUs, privacy requirements, or huge volume often favour the open model; teams that want zero ops and the latest capabilities favour the closed one. Capability is close enough that this operational question, not the benchmark, usually decides it.
Want both LongCat-2.5 and Muse Spark Open 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 Open 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 Open leans toward meta's first open-weight muse model - 816b-parameter moe with 42b active, accepting text, image, video and audio input, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, LongCat-2.5 or Muse Spark Open?
Muse Spark Open is open-weight, so self-hosting means no per-token fee (you pay for hardware instead), while LongCat-2.5 is API-metered at $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens. For most teams without GPUs, the API model is cheaper to start; at very high volume, self-hosting can win.
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 Open together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you LongCat-2.5, Muse Spark Open 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 Open?
LongCat-2.5 — released November 2, 2026, about 18 days after Muse Spark Open.
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.