Crouton Alpha 32.3/100Rank 29/52

STEALTHMARK · HEAD TO HEAD
All comparisons ↗Crouton Alpha leads Muse Spark 1.3 by 8.5 points on StealthMark, 48.0 to 39.5. It leads on 5 of 9 benchmarks, including Latch, and Muse Spark 1.3 on 4, including Foresight. Crouton Alpha scores higher on Newton's Mirror, with its largest category advantage in reflections.
See the difference ↘How many reasoning tokens a model needs for the quality it delivers.
How much Performance you get for your money.
BENCHMARK BY BENCHMARK
DATASHEET
Crouton Alpha scores higher on StealthMark. Muse Spark 1.3 runs 1.8× faster in our speed test.
Full datasheets, every price and sourceMuse Spark 1.3 ↗
Anticipating threats and planning ahead. Collect coins while avoiding ghosts. Ghosts move before the player each turn, and collisions cost a life. 3 levels in sequence, up to 66 turns in total. Earlier moves and outcomes carry forward, testing learning across levels.


Cooperative planning and learning from experience. Coordinate two robots to push numbered cores onto matching sockets. Pressure plates hold doors open; moving either robot uses one turn. 5 levels in sequence, up to 152 turns in total. Earlier moves and outcomes carry forward, testing learning across levels.


Physics, perspective and recursive reflections, tested together. Explore the test ↗


Crouton Alpha
The artwork establishes approximate central placement, a separate airborne black blob, and basic wall and floor sphere images. Its defining weaknesses are the largely absent recursive reflection system, missing emitter mappings, satin steel appearance and unresolved paint interaction. The black lateral wedges do not establish a separate viewport, and the hidden floor contact does not establish a gap. The category values remain unchanged.
Muse Spark 1.3
The paint state is incorrectly and poorly drawn, despite a recognizable sphere-and-paint setup. The oversized sphere, oversized compact paint bodies, and blurred wall and floor images further limit the result. Isolated reflection cues provide very little support for the required repeated virtual rooms, nested spherical imagery or emitter mapping.
| Category | Crouton Alpha | Muse Spark 1.3 |
|---|---|---|
| State at 600 ms | 19.0/25 | 6.0/25 |
| Camera and placement | 11.0/15 | 8.5/15 |
| Reflections | 21.5/120 | 5.5/120 |
| Materials and scale | 6.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Floor-damage reward | 0.0/10 | 0.0/10 |
A spinning metal sphere and paint in a mirrored room test physical reasoning, perspective and consistency across repeated reflections.
Visual construction and creative interpretation.


Crouton Alpha
A cheerful, readable cartoon captures the crouton's signature expression and many specific accessories. Coherent cube geometry and foreground foreshortening support the selfie. Simple construction and flat material treatment limit its sophistication, while the tipping raft, advancing soup and unnoticed soaking remain insufficiently clear.
Muse Spark 1.3
The luminous creature and geometric mirror counterpart communicate self-recognition through a coherent palette and expressive eyes. The transformed reflection is purposeful. Simple oval anatomy, ambiguous reaching-arm construction, shallow spatial staging and limited illumination of nearby surfaces keep the illustration below exceptional execution.
| Category | Crouton Alpha | Muse Spark 1.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Task & likeness | 6.5/10 | 8.0/10 |
| Anatomy & construction | 5.5/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Space & placement | 6.5/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Light & reflections | 5.5/10 | 7.0/10 |
| Purposeful detail | 7.0/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Artistry & character | 5.0/10 | 5.5/10 |
| Materials & effects | 5.5/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Visual integrity | 7.5/10 | 7.5/10 |
Crouton Alpha
Character scenes test expression, anatomy, materials and coherent visual construction.
Muse Spark 1.3
An imagined creature encounters its reflection. The scene tests original character design, visual self-interpretation and the relationship between a subject and its reflected image.
Precise visual recall and portrait reconstruction.


Crouton Alpha
A recognizable, coherent simplification with readable eyes, a restrained smile and modest facial volume. Frontal symmetry, an oversized head, capsule-like hands and geometric scenery substantially limit likeness, anatomy and depth. Clean contours preserve basic integrity but do not establish sophisticated construction or finish.
Muse Spark 1.3
Dark hair, a restrained smile and overlapping hands suggest Mona Lisa, but replication is weak. The face is markedly elongated, the hands are oval pads with faint finger strokes, and the atmospheric landscape is absent. Soft gradients provide basic volume, while the frontal symmetry, shallow space and sparse clothing detail limit the portrait’s drawing quality.
| Category | Crouton Alpha | Muse Spark 1.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Task & likeness | 4.5/10 | 1.0/10 |
| Anatomy & construction | 4.0/10 | 1.5/10 |
| Space & placement | 4.5/10 | 1.5/10 |
| Light & reflections | 5.0/10 | 1.5/10 |
| Purposeful detail | 4.0/10 | 1.0/10 |
| Artistry & character | 4.5/10 | 1.5/10 |
| Materials & effects | 4.0/10 | 1.5/10 |
| Visual integrity | 6.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
An SVG interpretation of the Mona Lisa tests facial likeness, anatomy and the composition of a familiar portrait.
Creativity, perspective and visual beauty.


Crouton Alpha
A colorful, readable sunset beach scene with playful subjects and a clear central reflection. Purposeful equipment and animal details reward inspection, and the principal attachments remain intact. Basic geometric anatomy, mixed viewpoints and sparse directional shadows limit its construction and depth; smooth gradients provide atmosphere with little material differentiation.
Muse Spark 1.3
The warm sunset, framing palms and colorful beach accessories create an appealing scene with the requested animals, birds and reflections. Construction remains schematic: the raised hand misses the kite string, and a doglike silhouette hangs above the water without clear support. The sun reflection establishes a focal path, but shadows and materials lack depth. An unexplained horizontal bar crosses the sun.
| Category | Crouton Alpha | Muse Spark 1.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Task & likeness | 8.5/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Anatomy & construction | 5.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| Space & placement | 5.5/10 | 5.5/10 |
| Light & reflections | 5.5/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Purposeful detail | 7.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Artistry & character | 5.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Materials & effects | 5.5/10 | 3.0/10 |
| Visual integrity | 7.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
A busy shoreline at sunset tests scene composition, animal forms and the relationship between light and water reflections.
Physical reasoning, light and visual reconstruction.


Crouton Alpha
This benchmark has not been assessed yet.
Muse Spark 1.3
This benchmark has not been assessed yet.
A plank, computer mouse and blueberry in a steel room test physical stability, spatial relationships, materials and lighting.
Scene composition and interacting subjects.


Crouton Alpha
A readable cartoon with expressive faces, purposeful markings and clear water motion. Hull shading and an underside shadow establish modest depth. The dog contacts the controls, but the raccoon's frontal pose leaves its seated weight unresolved. Simple anatomy and limited shared perspective constrain the drawing.
Muse Spark 1.3
The raccoon clearly rides on the dog's back, and the dog's paws reach the jet ski controls. Expressive faces and bright colors make the scene appealing. Simplified joints, crowded steering geometry and shallow hull perspective limit construction. The sun has no corresponding water reflection, and the splash shapes convey speed more clearly than convincing displacement.
| Category | Crouton Alpha | Muse Spark 1.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Task & likeness | 7.0/10 | 8.5/10 |
| Anatomy & construction | 5.0/10 | 6.0/10 |
| Space & placement | 6.0/10 | 7.0/10 |
| Light & reflections | 6.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Purposeful detail | 6.5/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Artistry & character | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Materials & effects | 5.5/10 | 6.0/10 |
| Visual integrity | 6.0/10 | 6.0/10 |
A jet-ski scene pairs a canine driver with a raccoon passenger. It tests the placement and contact of interacting subjects, along with vehicle construction.
Subject construction and spatial relationships.


Crouton Alpha
A recognizable, expressive pelican cyclist with purposeful feather and bicycle detail. Readable steering reach, connected machinery and modest body shading earn additional credit. Jointless legs, uncertain pedal engagement and unclear seated support keep the central action only partially resolved; shallow space and simple materials further limit the illustration.
Muse Spark 1.3
The pelican and bicycle are immediately recognizable, with an expressive face, bold bill and cheerful composition. Both legs connect to the body and reach pedal-like supports, but articulation, saddle support and wing contact with the handlebar remain unclear. Wheel alignment and layering are coherent. Simple landscape shapes, generic shadows and limited material variation constrain the finish.
| Category | Crouton Alpha | Muse Spark 1.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Task & likeness | 7.0/10 | 8.5/10 |
| Anatomy & construction | 5.0/10 | 6.0/10 |
| Space & placement | 5.5/10 | 7.0/10 |
| Light & reflections | 5.5/10 | 6.0/10 |
| Purposeful detail | 6.5/10 | 7.0/10 |
| Artistry & character | 5.5/10 | 5.5/10 |
| Materials & effects | 5.0/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Visual integrity | 6.0/10 | 7.0/10 |
A cycling pelican tests anatomy, riding posture and contact between the bird and the bicycle.