Gemini 4 Argon vs Muse Spark 1.3 Max compared

Gemini 4 Argon leads the intelligence index 50.4 to 36.6. Muse Spark 1.3 Max costs 75% less on blended price. Benchmarks, sample bills, speed and a verdict.

Metric	Gemini 4 Argon (High)	Muse Spark 1.3 (Max)
Intelligence Index	50.4	36.6
Input price (per 1M tokens)	$4.00	$1.25
Output price (per 1M tokens)	$20.00	$4.25
Output speed (tokens/s)	89	140
Time to first token	51s	36s
Release date	2026-09-30	2026-09-02

Metric

Gemini 4 Argon (High)

Muse Spark 1.3 (Max)

Intelligence Index

50.4

36.6

Input price (per 1M tokens)

$4.00

$1.25

Output price (per 1M tokens)

$20.00

$4.25

Output speed (tokens/s)

140

Time to first token

51s

36s

Release date

2026-09-30

2026-09-02

This matchup crosses tiers: Gemini 4 Argon (High) from Google against Muse Spark 1.3 (Max) from Meta. Their widest difference is the intelligence index, with Gemini 4 Argon ahead by 13.8 points (50.4 versus 36.6). Everything below is read from the benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's catalogue; nothing here comes from a hands-on test.

Overall capability: 13.8 points apart

Gemini 4 Argon records 50.4 on the intelligence index and Muse Spark 1.3 Max records 36.6. This is a substantial lead, not a near miss.

Among 109 active scored models, Gemini 4 Argon sits 15th and Muse Spark 1.3 Max 36th.

For coding or maths work specifically, the catalogue has no dedicated index on either side yet.

Speed and latency

Measured output speed is 89 tokens per second for Gemini 4 Argon and 140 tokens per second for Muse Spark 1.3 Max. Muse Spark 1.3 Max is ahead by 57% on throughput. The wait for the first token averages 51 seconds on Gemini 4 Argon against 36 seconds on Muse Spark 1.3 Max. In an interactive app, Muse Spark 1.3 Max will feel noticeably more responsive. Waits that long are felt on every chat-style request, though they matter less for batch jobs.

For a 2,000-token response, first token plus generation comes to roughly 73 seconds on Gemini 4 Argon and 50 seconds on Muse Spark 1.3 Max.

Cost: Muse Spark 1.3 Max is cheaper

Per million tokens, Gemini 4 Argon charges $4.00 for input and $20.00 for output, while Muse Spark 1.3 Max charges $1.25 and $4.25. Gemini 4 Argon costs 4.7 times as much per output token.

A reference job of 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens costs $8.00 with Gemini 4 Argon and $2.10 with Muse Spark 1.3 Max, so Muse Spark 1.3 Max saves $5.90. Scale it up to an agent that reads 50 million tokens and writes 5 million in a month and the bill is $300 for Gemini 4 Argon against $83.75 for Muse Spark 1.3 Max.

Is the price in proportion?

Dividing the blended price by the intelligence index gives a rough cost per point: $0.16 for Gemini 4 Argon and $0.055 for Muse Spark 1.3 Max, per million tokens. Muse Spark 1.3 Max delivers each index point for 66% less; whether Gemini 4 Argon's extra 13.8 points are worth the premium depends on how often your tasks need them.

Which is newer

Muse Spark 1.3 Max came first, on September 2, 2026; Gemini 4 Argon followed on September 30, 2026. They are effectively contemporaries.

FAQ

Is Gemini 4 Argon better than Muse Spark 1.3 Max?

Not across the board: Gemini 4 Argon scores higher on the intelligence index, 50.4 to 36.6; Muse Spark 1.3 Max is 75% cheaper on blended price; and Muse Spark 1.3 Max streams output 1.6 times as fast.

Where do these numbers come from?

The figures are the recorded benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's model catalogue. This page is written from that data automatically; neither model was tested by hand for it.

Which is newer, Gemini 4 Argon or Muse Spark 1.3 Max?

Gemini 4 Argon is newer. It was released on September 30, 2026, 28 days after Muse Spark 1.3 Max (September 2, 2026).

Which is faster, Gemini 4 Argon or Muse Spark 1.3 Max?

Muse Spark 1.3 Max generates output faster, at 140 tokens per second against 89 tokens per second. Muse Spark 1.3 Max reaches its first token sooner (36 seconds against 51 seconds).

How much do Gemini 4 Argon and Muse Spark 1.3 Max cost?

Muse Spark 1.3 Max is cheaper on a blended basis. Gemini 4 Argon lists $4.00 per million input tokens and $20.00 per million output tokens; Muse Spark 1.3 Max lists $1.25 and $4.25. For 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens that is $8.00 against $2.10.

Final whistle

The verdict: on balance the numbers favour Gemini 4 Argon, though Muse Spark 1.3 Max keeps a case of its own. Pick Muse Spark 1.3 Max if cost matters ($4.25 against $20.00 per million output tokens) and long outputs need to finish quickly. Pick Gemini 4 Argon if you need the higher overall score (50.4 against 36.6).

Where the numbers come from

The scores, speed and prices in this comparison come from independent third-party model evaluations that Franklin AI syncs each day, and the article was written from a snapshot of them. For the latest results, open the Gemini 4 Argon (High) and Muse Spark 1.3 (Max) pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.