# Darwin-36B-Opus vs ZAYA1-8B (slim)

> Darwin-36B-Opus and ZAYA1-8B score within a point of each other for open-weight models you run yourself, 61 and 61 out of 100. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/darwin-36b-opus-vs-zaya1-8b.md (~8,550 tokens) · this version ~530 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/darwin-36b-opus-vs-zaya1-8b.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/darwin-36b-opus-vs-zaya1-8b
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-10
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Darwin-36B-Opus and ZAYA1-8B score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 61 (C) and 61 (C). Both do open-weight models you run yourself.

- Darwin-36B-Opus: C 61, rank #43 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/darwin-36b-opus.min.md
- ZAYA1-8B: C 61, rank #85 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/zaya1-8b.min.md
- Darwin-36B-Opus, good for Reasoning-heavy text tasks on a 32 GB machine or a single 80 GB GPU, where a disclosed training method isn't required Ahead on Agent interface, 70 against 60; Documentation and upkeep, 61 against 50.
- ZAYA1-8B, good for People who want a small, fast reasoning model for maths and code and can live without tool calling

| Category | Darwin-36B-Opus | ZAYA1-8B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 80 | 80 |
| Risk (20%) | 55 | 55 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 70 | 60 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 61 | 50 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Darwin-36B-Opus | ZAYA1-8B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | FINAL-Bench (VIDRAFT) | Zyphra |
| Last release | 2026-04-23 | 2026-07-02 |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (4) | none |

Why the edge:
- Documentation and upkeep, Darwin-36B-Opus +11: Darwin-36B-Opus 61 (Model card 11, it covers architecture, parameters, context and languages but not intended use, limitations or a knowledge cut-off.); ZAYA1-8B 50 (Model card 5, Intended use and the parameter counts are on the card.)
- Agent interface, Darwin-36B-Opus +10: Darwin-36B-Opus 70 (Chat template 20, Qwen3.6's Jinja template in the repository.); ZAYA1-8B 60 (Chat template 20, chat_template.jinja in the repository (10,700 characters).)