API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewGranite 4.1 8B vs DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1

Pick Granite 4.1 8B when budget is the priority.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T10:03:26Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T12:43:06Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Granite 4.1 8B when budget is the priority.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Granite 4.1 8B is estimated at $0.1 vs $0.39 for DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1, saving $0.29 (74% lower).

Cost-first pickGranite 4.1 8B

Context-first pickBoth models

Sample savings$0.2974%

10x traffic gap$2.85

The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $2.85. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Granite 4.1 8B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Granite 4.1 8B	DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Granite 4.1 8B	$0.3	$0.93
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Granite 4.1 8B	$0.15	$0.64
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Granite 4.1 8B	$0.55	$2.63

Cheaper input Granite 4.1 8B $0.05 vs $0.135 / 1M

Granite 4.1 8B is $0.09 cheaper per 1M input tokens (63% lower; 2.7x difference).

Cheaper output Granite 4.1 8B $0.1 vs $0.5 / 1M

Granite 4.1 8B is $0.4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (80% lower; 5x difference).

Larger context Tie 131.07K vs 131.07K

Both models report the same context window at 131.07K tokens.

Sample workload Granite 4.1 8B $0.1 vs $0.39

Granite 4.1 8B is $0.29 cheaper on the standard workload (74% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Granite 4.1 8B Calculating… Estimated API cost

DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

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

Verdict

Granite 4.1 8B has the lower input price; Granite 4.1 8B has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Granite 4.1 8B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.1 for Granite 4.1 8B and $0.39 for DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1.

Best Fit

Choose Granite 4.1 8B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Granite 4.1 8B is estimated at $0.1 vs $0.39 for DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1, saving $0.29 (74% lower).
Granite 4.1 8B is $0.29 cheaper on the standard workload (74% lower).
Granite 4.1 8B is $0.09 cheaper per 1M input tokens (63% lower; 2.7x difference).
Granite 4.1 8B is $0.4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (80% lower; 5x difference).
Both models report the same context window at 131.07K tokens.

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewGranite 4.1 8B (IBM)	DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 (Nex AGI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.05	$0.135
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.1	$0.5
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.1	$0.39
Context Window	131.07K	131.07K
Release Date	2026-04-30	2025-12-08

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Granite 4.1 8B	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Granite 4.1 8B is estimated at $0.1 vs $0.39 for DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1, saving $0.29 (74% lower).
High-volume input processing	Granite 4.1 8B	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Granite 4.1 8B	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Tie	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Granite 4.0 Micro can replace Granite 4.1 8B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.07.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite offers 1.05M context with $0.3 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

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Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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IBM catalog

Review all tracked IBM models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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Nex AGI catalog

Check other Nex AGI models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open Nex AGI models

Granite 4.1 8B

Granite 4.1 8B is a dense, decoder-only 8-billion-parameter language model from IBM, part of the Granite 4.1 family. It supports a 131K-token context window and is designed for enterprise tasks...

DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1

DeepSeek V3.1 Nex-N1 is the flagship release of the Nex-N1 series — a post-trained model designed to highlight agent autonomy, tool use, and real-world productivity. Nex-N1 demonstrates competitive performance across...