// alternatives · October 2026
Muse Spark Open alternatives
Cheaper models that come close, budget substitutes, and the cheapest step up — chosen on published LiveBench scores and live list price, never on our opinion. Every model here supports tool calling and image input, as Muse Spark Open does.
The closest cheaper alternative to Muse Spark Open is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 — 22.4 points higher overall, 74% cheaper on LiveBench and list price.
Muse Spark Open: 51.6 overall on LiveBench, $2.00 per 1M blended tokens, about $815.00/mo for a RAG assistant.
Cheaper, close in quality
Lower list price and within 5 points of Muse Spark Open on LiveBench overall — the switches least likely to be noticed by users. Strongest first.
| Model | Overall | vs Muse Spark Open | Blended / 1M | RAG assistant | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017deepseek 22.4 points higher overall, 74% cheaper. Head to head → | 74.0 | +22.4 | $0.525−74% | $194.40/mo | 1.0M |
| Claude Haiku 5.5anthropic 18.2 points higher overall, 90% cheaper. Head to head → | 69.8 | +18.2 | $0.200−90% | $74.00/mo | 1M |
| MiMo-V2.6-Proxiaomi 16.9 points higher overall, 73% cheaper. Head to head → | 68.5 | +16.9 | $0.544−73% | $227.64/mo | 1.1M |
| MiniMax M3.1 Flashminimax 15.3 points higher overall, 87% cheaper. Head to head → | 66.9 | +15.3 | $0.262−87% | $102.00/mo | 1.0M |
| GPT-6 Lunaopenai 13.0 points higher overall, 90% cheaper. Head to head → | 64.6 | +13.0 | $0.200−90% | $74.00/mo | 1.1M |
Budget substitutes
Within 15 points of Muse Spark Open, cheapest first — and only models that are the best score at their price, so nothing here is beaten by a cheaper pick. Worth testing for high-volume traffic where the last few points matter less than the bill.
| Model | Overall | vs Muse Spark Open | Blended / 1M | RAG assistant | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLM 5.3 Flashz-ai 10.4 points higher overall, 88% cheaper. Head to head → | 62.1 | +10.4 | $0.237−88% | $102.00/mo | 1.0M |
Match it on one task for less
For each LiveBench category, the cheapest model that scores at least as well as Muse Spark Open there. Useful when your workload is mostly one kind of task.
| Category | Cheapest match | Score | Blended / 1M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-horizon agentic | Claude Haiku 5.5 | 40.0 vs 11.7 | $0.200−90% |
| Coding | Claude Haiku 5.5 | 91.4 vs 73.6 | $0.200−90% |
| Reasoning | Claude Haiku 5.5 | 82.4 vs 73.7 | $0.200−90% |
| Browser | Claude Haiku 5.5 | 69.5 vs 26.2 | $0.200−90% |
| Data analysis | GPT-6 Luna | 73.4 vs 60.2 | $0.200−90% |
| Research | Claude Haiku 5.5 | 81.9 vs 80.3 | $0.200−90% |
| Documents & design | Claude Haiku 5.5 | 83.1 vs 60.3 | $0.200−90% |
Stronger options, cheapest first
Models that beat Muse Spark Open on LiveBench overall, ordered by what the upgrade costs.
| Model | Overall | vs Muse Spark Open | Blended / 1M | RAG assistant | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 5.5anthropic 18.2 points higher overall, 90% cheaper. Head to head → | 69.8 | +18.2 | $0.200−90% | $74.00/mo | 1M |
| GPT-6 Lunaopenai 13.0 points higher overall, 90% cheaper. Head to head → | 64.6 | +13.0 | $0.200−90% | $74.00/mo | 1.1M |
| GLM 5.3 Flashz-ai 10.4 points higher overall, 88% cheaper. Head to head → | 62.1 | +10.4 | $0.237−88% | $102.00/mo | 1.0M |
| MiniMax M3.1 Flashminimax 15.3 points higher overall, 87% cheaper. Head to head → | 66.9 | +15.3 | $0.262−87% | $102.00/mo | 1.0M |
| Qwen3.8 27Bqwen 6.8 points higher overall, 83% cheaper. Head to head → | 58.4 | +6.8 | $0.342−83% | $92.16/mo | 1M |
Muse Spark Open alternatives FAQ
What is the best alternative to Muse Spark Open?
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017. 22.4 points higher overall, 74% cheaper. Every suggestion supports tool calling and image input, like Muse Spark Open.
What is the cheapest alternative to Muse Spark Open?
Claude Haiku 5.5 at $0.200 per 1M blended tokens, scoring 69.8 overall against Muse Spark Open's 51.6. On a RAG assistant at 100K requests a month that is $74.00 instead of $815.00.
Which model is better than Muse Spark Open?
The cheapest model that scores higher overall on LiveBench is Claude Haiku 5.5 — 18.2 points higher overall, 90% cheaper.
Is there a cheaper model that matches Muse Spark Open on specific tasks?
Yes, in 7 of the seven LiveBench categories. For example, long-horizon agentic: Claude Haiku 5.5 (40.0 vs 11.7); coding: Claude Haiku 5.5 (91.4 vs 73.6); reasoning: Claude Haiku 5.5 (82.4 vs 73.7).
How alternatives are chosen
- Scores — LiveBench release 2026-10-25. Only models with a published run are suggested on quality; a missing model means “not evaluated”, not “worse”.
- Prices — live list prices from OpenRouter, blended 3:1 input:output. Monthly figures price a RAG assistant with the published cached-input rate where there is one.
- Same job — suggestions must support every capability Muse Spark Open has among tool calling and image input. Other listings of the same model (free or batch tiers) are variants, not alternatives, and are left out.
A few points on a public benchmark can hide large differences on your own tasks. Shortlist here, then decide with an eval — how to build one.