Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for input tokens while Inkling costs $1 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewDots3-Note Preview (free) vs Inkling
Pick Dots3-Note Preview (free) for lower cost; pick Inkling only if the larger context window matters more.
Page updated:
Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Dots3-Note Preview (free) for lower cost; pick Inkling only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Dots3-Note Preview (free) is estimated at $0 vs $3.02 for Inkling, saving $3.02 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickDots3-Note Preview (free)
Context-first pickInkling
Sample savings$3.02100%
10x traffic gap$30.25
Inkling has more context, but Dots3-Note Preview (free) saves $3.02 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $30.25. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Dots3-Note Preview (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Dots3-Note Preview (free) | Inkling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Dots3-Note Preview (free) | $0 | $7.03 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Dots3-Note Preview (free) | $0 | $5.05 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Dots3-Note Preview (free) | $0 | $21.25 |
Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for output tokens while Inkling costs $4.05 per 1M tokens.
Inkling has 536.58K more context (2.05x larger).
Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $3.02.
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.
Quick Decision
Dots3-Note Preview (free) has the lower input price; Dots3-Note Preview (free) has the lower output price; Inkling offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Dots3-Note Preview (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for Dots3-Note Preview (free) and $3.02 for Inkling.
Choose Dots3-Note Preview (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose Inkling when you care most about larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Dots3-Note Preview (free) is estimated at $0 vs $3.02 for Inkling, saving $3.02 (100% lower).
- Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $3.02.
- Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for input tokens while Inkling costs $1 per 1M tokens.
- Dots3-Note Preview (free) is free for output tokens while Inkling costs $4.05 per 1M tokens.
- Inkling has 536.58K more context (2.05x larger).
| Feature | NewDots3-Note Preview (free) (Dots Studio) | Inkling (Thinking Machines) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0 | $1 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0 | $4.05 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0 | $3.02 |
| Context Window | 512K | 1.05M |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Dots3-Note Preview (free) | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Dots3-Note Preview (free) is estimated at $0 vs $3.02 for Inkling, saving $3.02 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Dots3-Note Preview (free) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Dots3-Note Preview (free) | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Inkling | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Inkling Small (free) can replace Inkling when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Inkling (free) can replace Inkling when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Inkling Small can replace Inkling when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.05.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.11 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #1
- MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #2
- Hy3 · Tencent · #3
- Ox Alpha · stealth · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
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Open provider hubsDots Studio catalog
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Open Thinking Machines modelsDots3-Note Preview is an open-weight mixture-of-experts model from Dots Studio, with 16B active parameters out of 280B total. It is the lightest model in the Dots 3 family and is...
Inkling is an open-weight multimodal mixture-of-experts model from Thinking Machines Lab, with 41B active parameters out of 975B total. It is designed for general-purpose reasoning, coding, agentic and tool-use systems,...