Jamba 1.5 Mini (SSM)vsJamba 1.5 Large
AI21 Labs vs AI21 Labs — Side-by-side model comparison
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Metric | Jamba 1.5 Mini (SSM) | Jamba 1.5 Large |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | ||
| Arena Rank | — | — |
| Context Window | 256K | 256K |
| Input Pricing | /bin/zsh.20/1M tokens | $2.00/1M tokens |
| Output Pricing | /bin/zsh.40/1M tokens | $8.00/1M tokens |
| Parameters | 52B (12B active) | 398B (94B active) |
| Open Source | Yes | Yes |
| Best For | Efficient long-context processing, throughput | Long documents, enterprise RAG, analysis |
| Release Date | Mar 28, 2024 | Aug 22, 2024 |
Jamba 1.5 Mini (SSM)
Jamba is AI21 Labs' pioneering hybrid architecture that combines Mamba state-space model layers with transformer attention layers. This novel approach achieves 3x throughput improvement over pure transformer models of equivalent quality. The Jamba architecture represents a significant step toward more efficient AI models that can process long contexts without the quadratic cost of full attention.
View AI21 Labs profile →Jamba 1.5 Large
Jamba 1.5 Large is AI21 Labs' flagship model based on their novel hybrid SSM-Transformer architecture that combines the efficiency of state-space models with the capabilities of transformers. With a 256K context window and 398 billion total parameters, it processes extremely long documents efficiently while delivering strong performance on reasoning and generation tasks. The unique architecture offers better throughput than pure transformer models at equivalent quality.
View AI21 Labs profile →Key Differences: Jamba 1.5 Mini (SSM) vs Jamba 1.5 Large
Jamba 1.5 Mini (SSM) is 16.7x cheaper on average, making it the better choice for high-volume applications.
Jamba 1.5 Mini (SSM) has 52B (12B active) parameters vs Jamba 1.5 Large's 398B (94B active), which affects inference speed and capability.
When to use Jamba 1.5 Mini (SSM)
- +Budget is a concern and you need cost efficiency
- +Your use case involves efficient long-context processing, throughput
When to use Jamba 1.5 Large
- +Quality matters more than cost
- +Your use case involves long documents, enterprise rag, analysis
Cost Analysis
At current pricing, Jamba 1.5 Mini (SSM) is 16.7x more affordable than Jamba 1.5 Large. For a typical enterprise workload processing 100M tokens per month:
Jamba 1.5 Mini (SSM) monthly cost
$30
100M tokens/mo (50/50 in/out)
Jamba 1.5 Large monthly cost
$500
100M tokens/mo (50/50 in/out)
The Verdict
Jamba 1.5 Mini (SSM) wins our head-to-head comparison with 2 out of 5 category wins. It's the stronger choice for efficient long-context processing, throughput, though Jamba 1.5 Large holds an edge in long documents, enterprise rag, analysis.
Last compared: March 2026 · Data sourced from public benchmarks and official pricing pages