Muse Spark 1.1 vs Muse Spark Open
Meta · US | Meta · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Both are Meta models. Muse Spark Open is the newer, generally stronger default; reach for Muse Spark 1.1 when a specific cost or latency profile matters more than the latest capabilities.
Muse Spark 1.1 and Muse Spark Open are both Meta models, so the real question is not which lab to trust but which tier fits your workload and budget. Muse Spark 1.1 is meta's first paid, closed-weight frontier model — class-leading agentic tool use at a quarter of rivals' price, but it trails on coding. 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. Since both come from the same lab, the comparison below focuses on the tier-and-cost trade-offs that actually separate them.
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 Muse Spark 1.1 is API-metered at $1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens. Your choice depends on whether you want zero marginal cost at the price of running infrastructure.
- ▸Context window: 1M vs 1M tokens — within a few percent of each other, so treat this as a tie and test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
- ▸Recency: Muse Spark Open is the newer model by about 3 months (released October 15, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Muse Spark 1.1 | Muse Spark Open |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Meta (US) | Meta (US) |
| Released | July 9, 2026 | October 15, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M (~1,573 pages) | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $1.25/$4.25 per 1M tokens | Open weight (self-host / free) |
| Open weight? | No — API only | Yes — self-hostable |
| Modalities | text, image, video, code | text, image, video, audio, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | 54.1% | Not published |
Who wins what
Scaled tool use — 88.1 on MCP Atlas, ahead of Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5 (vendor-reported)
Muse Spark 1.1
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
Subagent orchestration — trained to run as a main agent or a subagent that escalates when stuck
Muse Spark 1.1
Muse Spark 1.1 lists subagent orchestration — trained to run as a main agent or a subagent that escalates when stuck among its strengths; Muse Spark Open does not.
Professional agentic work — 54.7 on JobBench, a wide margin over rivals (vendor-reported)
Muse Spark 1.1
Muse Spark 1.1 lists professional agentic work — 54.7 on JobBench, a wide margin over rivals (vendor-reported) among its strengths; Muse Spark Open does not.
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 — Muse Spark 1.1 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
Muse Spark 1.1 is comparatively weak here — closed weights end the free, self-hostable Llama path — this is the first model Meta has charged for
About 143 output tokens/sec; up to 128K output tokens
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 Muse Spark 1.1 is API-only.
Lowest cost at scale
Muse Spark Open
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of Muse Spark 1.1's $1.25/$4.25 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 Muse Spark 1.1, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Muse Spark 1.1
Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
A team with data-privacy or self-hosting needs
→ Muse Spark Open
Open weights let you run it on your own hardware; Muse Spark 1.1 is API-only.
Anyone whose priority is scaled tool use — 88.1 on mcp atlas, ahead of opus 4.8 and gpt-5.5 (vendor-reported)
→ Muse Spark 1.1
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.
Muse Spark 1.1: where it fits
Meta's first paid, closed-weight frontier model — class-leading agentic tool use at a quarter of rivals' price, but it trails on coding. Released July 9, 2026 by Meta, it is built for scaled tool use — 88.1 on MCP Atlas, ahead of Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5 (vendor-reported), subagent orchestration — trained to run as a main agent or a subagent that escalates when stuck, professional agentic work — 54.7 on JobBench, a wide margin over rivals (vendor-reported), and managing its own context: it compacts the 1M window mid-run instead of relying on external windowing.
Its trade-offs are real: not the coding leader its launch framing implied — Meta's own report concedes it trails Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5 on every coding benchmark, the 1M window oversells its recall: 54.1 on MRCR v2 at 1M against GPT-5.5's 74.0, closed weights end the free, self-hostable Llama path — this is the first model Meta has charged for, and uS-only public preview behind a waitlist, and every benchmark is vendor-reported with no third-party replication. At $1.25 in / $4.25 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid 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
Because Muse Spark 1.1 and Muse Spark Open come from the same lab (Meta), they share the same training philosophy and ecosystem — the decision is purely tier vs. cost. Muse Spark Open is the more capable, more recent option; the other earns its place only when its price or latency profile fits a specific job better. Most teams should default to Muse Spark Open and drop down only with a concrete reason.
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See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is Muse Spark 1.1 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, Muse Spark 1.1 leans toward scaled tool use — 88.1 on mcp atlas, ahead of opus 4.8 and gpt-5.5 (vendor-reported) 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, Muse Spark 1.1 or Muse Spark Open?
Muse Spark Open is open-weight, so self-hosting means no per-token fee (you pay for hardware instead), while Muse Spark 1.1 is API-metered at $1.25/$4.25 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?
Effectively neither — 1M vs 1M tokens is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Should I upgrade from Muse Spark 1.1 to Muse Spark Open?
Since both are Meta models, the newer one (Muse Spark Open) is usually the better default unless you need a specific cost or latency profile from the other.
Which is newer, Muse Spark 1.1 or Muse Spark Open?
Muse Spark Open — released October 15, 2026, about 3 months after Muse Spark 1.1.
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.