Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is $0.03 cheaper per 1M input tokens (37.5% lower; 1.6x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Gemma 3 27B vs Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B
Pick Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B when budget and context both matter.
Page updated:
Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.16 for Gemma 3 27B, saving $0.01 (6.2% lower).
Cost-first pickNemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B
Context-first pickNemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B
Sample savings$0.016.2%
10x traffic gap$0.1
Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.1. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B, balanced workload favors Gemma 3 27B, and output-heavy chatbot favors Gemma 3 27B.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Gemma 3 27B | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B | $0.48 | $0.35 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Gemma 3 27B | $0.24 | $0.25 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Gemma 3 27B | $0.88 | $1.05 |
Gemma 3 27B is $0.04 cheaper per 1M output tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B has 131.07K more context (2x larger).
Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is $0.01 cheaper on the standard workload (6.2% lower).
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
Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B has the lower input price; Gemma 3 27B has the lower output price; Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.16 for Gemma 3 27B and $0.15 for Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B.
Choose Gemma 3 27B when you care most about lower output-token price.
Choose Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.16 for Gemma 3 27B, saving $0.01 (6.2% lower).
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is $0.01 cheaper on the standard workload (6.2% lower).
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is $0.03 cheaper per 1M input tokens (37.5% lower; 1.6x difference).
- Gemma 3 27B is $0.04 cheaper per 1M output tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B has 131.07K more context (2x larger).
| Feature | Gemma 3 27B (Google) | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (NVIDIA) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.08 | $0.05 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.16 | $0.2 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.16 | $0.15 |
| Context Window | 131.07K | 262.14K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #86 | #95 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.16 for Gemma 3 27B, saving $0.01 (6.2% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Gemma 3 27B | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Gemma 4 31B (free) can replace Gemma 3 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Gemma 3 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Gemma 3 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Gemma 3 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- Lyria 3 Clip Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsGoogle catalog
Review all tracked Google models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Google modelsNVIDIA catalog
Check other NVIDIA models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open NVIDIA modelsGemma 3 introduces multimodality, supporting vision-language input and text outputs. It handles context windows up to 128k tokens, understands over 140 languages, and offers improved math, reasoning, and chat capabilities,...
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is a small language MoE model with highest compute efficiency and accuracy for developers to build specialized agentic AI systems. The model is fully...