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AI · head to head

Poolside vs Weka

Poolside logo

Poolside

AI

Open-weight foundation models built for agentic software engineering

From
$0.06/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Weka logo

Weka

Machine Learning

Collection of machine learning algorithms

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Weka has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Poolside no self-serve public application; access is largely through enterprise sales or third-party model gateways; Weka the package management system needs an internet connection to download and install packages, so an air-gapped install gets only the core distribution
  • They diverge on capability: Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1, Weka covers Classification.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Poolside and Weka actually diverge.

Attributes where Poolside and Weka differ
AttributePoolsideWeka
Starting price$0.06/monthFree
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
Free tierNoYes
Platformsweb, api, mac, windows, linuxLinux, Mac, Windows
CategoryAIMachine Learning
Founded20231993

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Poolside

  • Laguna S 2.1
  • Laguna XS 2.1
  • Desktop and CLI tools
  • Open-weight models
  • Third-party gateway access

Only in Weka

  • Classification
  • Regression
  • Clustering
  • Association rules
  • Feature selection
  • Java
  • R
  • Python

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Poolside

  • Enterprises deploying AI coding assistance across large developer organizationsnot Weka
  • Government and defense agencies needing on-premise or sovereign coding modelsnot Weka
  • Teams building custom coding agents on open-weight foundation modelsnot Weka
  • Organizations wanting on-device lightweight coding modelsnot Weka

Weka

  • Teaching and exploring classic machine learning algorithms through a GUInot Poolside
  • Running data mining experiments and preprocessing without writing codenot Poolside

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Poolside

  • No self-serve public application; access is largely through enterprise sales or third-party model gateways
  • Pricing for the flagship enterprise and government offering is not public and requires a sales conversation
  • Targets organizations with large (5,000+) developer headcounts, making it a poor fit for individuals or small teams
  • Documentation and product surface area are thin compared to consumer-facing coding assistants

Weka

  • The package management system needs an internet connection to download and install packages, so an air-gapped install gets only the core distribution
  • Weka is split into a stable 3.8 branch that receives only bug fixes and compatibility-safe upgrades and a 3.9 development branch that may receive features that break compatibility
  • Weka requires a 64-bit Java VM; the bundled installers ship Bellsoft OpenJDK 25 per platform and architecture

Pricing, plan by plan

Poolside

$0.06/month
  • Laguna XS 2.1$undefined/month
    • $0.06 per 1M input tokens
    • $0.12 per 1M output tokens
    • Available via OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway
  • Laguna S 2.1$undefined/month
    • $0.10 per 1M input tokens
    • $0.20 per 1M output tokens
    • 1M token context window
  • Enterprise / Government$undefined/month
    • Custom contracts for large engineering organizations
    • Sales-quoted pricing
    • On-premise or dedicated deployment options

Weka

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • All ML algorithms
    • GUI and CLI
    • Java API

Which should you pick?

Choose Poolside if

  • You need laguna s 2.1.
  • You work on web, api, mac, windows, linux.
  • You also want laguna xs 2.1.
Poolside review

Choose Weka if

  • You need classification.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want regression.
Weka review

Questions people ask

Is Poolside or Weka better?
Neither clearly leads. Poolside starts at $0.06/month and Weka at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Poolside or Weka?
Weka has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.06/month for Poolside and Free for Weka.
Does Poolside or Weka run on more platforms?
Poolside runs on web, api, mac, windows, linux. Weka runs on Linux, Mac, Windows.
Can I use Weka for free?
Yes. Weka has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Poolside starts at $0.06/month.
What is Poolside best used for?
Poolside is most often used for enterprises deploying ai coding assistance across large developer organizations, government and defense agencies needing on-premise or sovereign coding models, teams building custom coding agents on open-weight foundation models, organizations wanting on-device lightweight coding models. Of those, enterprises deploying ai coding assistance across large developer organizations and government and defense agencies needing on-premise or sovereign coding models are not what Weka is typically brought in for.
What can Poolside do that Weka cannot?
Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1, Laguna XS 2.1, Desktop and CLI tools, Open-weight models. Weka covers Classification, Regression, Clustering, Association rules.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Poolside: How is Poolside's Laguna model usage priced?

Laguna XS 2.1 is priced at $0.06 per 1M input tokens and $0.12 per 1M output tokens; Laguna S 2.1 is $0.10 per 1M input tokens and $0.20 per 1M output tokens.

Source
Weka: What is the cost of Weka software?

Weka is provided at no cost as open-source software released under the GNU General Public License, making it freely available for download and use.

Source
Poolside: Where can I access Poolside's models?

Laguna models are available through third-party gateways OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway, as well as via Poolside's own desktop and CLI tools.

Source
Weka: Are there commercial licensing options available?

Yes, the project offers information about commercial licenses for organizations requiring non-GPL terms, which can be found in their commercial applications documentation.

Source
Poolside: Does Poolside offer enterprise or government pricing?

Yes, Poolside offers custom, sales-quoted contracts for large enterprises and government/defense customers, including on-premise or dedicated deployment options.

Source
Weka: What support resources are available to users?

Multiple support avenues exist including comprehensive documentation, frequently asked questions, dedicated help resources, and access to courses for learning the platform.

Source
Poolside: How do I get started building with Poolside's models?

Poolside's documentation provides a quickstart guide for installing the `pool` CLI and running an agent task, alongside API documentation for custom integrations.

Source
Weka: Is source code access provided?

Yes, developers have full access to source code through the Git repository, along with development documentation and code credits for contributors.

Source
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