← ModelRumors.ai buyer's guide
HEAD TO HEAD · UPDATED NOV 6, 2026
Gemini 4 Argon vs Muse Spark Open
Google DeepMind against Meta, on sourced numbers only. Green marks the higher (or cheaper) value on each row; the text below only calls a lead when the gap is bigger than measurement noise.
| Gemini 4 Argon | Muse Spark Open | |
|---|---|---|
| Arena Elo | 1520 source ↗ | not published |
| GPQA Diamond | 96.4% source ↗ | 89.0% source ↗ |
| $ per 1M in / out | $2 / $10 source ↗ | $1.25 / $4.25 source ↗ |
| Blended $ per 1M (3:1) | $4.00 source ↗ | $2.00 source ↗ |
| Context window | 1M source ↗ | 1M source ↗ |
| Output speed | 74 tok/s source ↗ | 153 tok/s source ↗ |
| Released | Oct 13, 2026 source ↗ | Oct 15, 2026 source ↗ |
| Open weights | No source ↗ | Yes source ↗ |
| Reasoning effort tiers | low · medium · high (default: medium) | not verified (default: not stated) |
| API effort control | thinking_config={"thinking_level": "low" | "medium" | "high"} source ↗ | Not verified: reasoning controls depend on the host source ↗ |
| Additional benchmarks | DeepSWE v1.1: 77.9% source ↗ AA Intelligence Index v5.0.1: 50 (High) source ↗ | Size: 816B total, 42B active (MoE) source ↗ Output speed: 153 tok/s, varies by host source ↗ |
| Best for (workload) | Highest GPQA Diamond score we track (96.4%, Epoch AI) and the top Arena Text score among models you can use today (1520). source ↗ | Meta's large open-weights model (816B total, 42B active) with a 1M context window; 89.0% GPQA Diamond (Meta). source ↗ |
Arena Elo from the arena.ai text leaderboard as of Oct 27, 2026 source ↗. Speed measured by Artificial Analysis and varies by provider.
Which one should I use?
For high-volume work where cost matters most, Muse Spark Open is about 2.0 times cheaper per token. For hard science and analysis questions, Gemini 4 Argon scores higher on GPQA Diamond (96.4% vs 89.0%). For latency-sensitive use such as live chat, Muse Spark Open is noticeably faster (153 vs 74 tokens per second). If you need to self-host or fine-tune, only Muse Spark Open has open weights. On release timing, Google DeepMind is at day 24 of a typical ~32-day gap (MID-CYCLE), and Meta is at day 22 of a typical ~14-day gap (PAST TYPICAL GAP).
Key differences from the sourced numbers
- Muse Spark Open is the cheaper option: $2.00 vs $4.00 per 1M tokens at a 3:1 input-to-output mix (about 2.0 times less).
- On GPQA Diamond, graduate-level science questions, Gemini 4 Argon leads 96.4% to 89.0%.
- Muse Spark Open streams output faster: 153 vs 74 tokens per second (Artificial Analysis).
- Gemini 4 Argon pricing note: Introductory price until Nov 30, 2026; $4 / $20 from Dec 1. No higher rate for long prompts.
- Muse Spark Open pricing note: Hosted price on OpenRouter (ID meta/muse-spark-open) and Together AI (ID meta-models/Muse-Spark-Open-816B-A42B). Open weights under the Muse Model License.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemini 4 Argon or Muse Spark Open better?
Muse Spark Open is the cheaper option: $2.00 vs $4.00 per 1M tokens at a 3:1 input-to-output mix (about 2.0 times less). On GPQA Diamond, graduate-level science questions, Gemini 4 Argon leads 96.4% to 89.0%. Muse Spark Open streams output faster: 153 vs 74 tokens per second (Artificial Analysis). Gemini 4 Argon pricing note: Introductory price until Nov 30, 2026; $4 / $20 from Dec 1. No higher rate for long prompts. Muse Spark Open pricing note: Hosted price on OpenRouter (ID meta/muse-spark-open) and Together AI (ID meta-models/Muse-Spark-Open-816B-A42B). Open weights under the Muse Model License.
Which one should I use: Gemini 4 Argon or Muse Spark Open?
For high-volume work where cost matters most, Muse Spark Open is about 2.0 times cheaper per token. For hard science and analysis questions, Gemini 4 Argon scores higher on GPQA Diamond (96.4% vs 89.0%). For latency-sensitive use such as live chat, Muse Spark Open is noticeably faster (153 vs 74 tokens per second). If you need to self-host or fine-tune, only Muse Spark Open has open weights. On release timing, Google DeepMind is at day 24 of a typical ~32-day gap (MID-CYCLE), and Meta is at day 22 of a typical ~14-day gap (PAST TYPICAL GAP).
How much does Gemini 4 Argon cost compared with Muse Spark Open?
Gemini 4 Argon lists at $2 / $10 per 1M input/output tokens ($4.00/1M blended at 3:1). Muse Spark Open lists at $1.25 / $4.25 per 1M input/output tokens ($2.00/1M blended at 3:1).
Facts checked Nov 5, 2026 against official sources. Every number links to its source. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].