API cost decision in 10 seconds

Ministral 3 14B 2512 vs Nova 2 Lite

Pick Ministral 3 14B 2512 for lower cost; pick Nova 2 Lite only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T18:08:02Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Ministral 3 14B 2512 for lower cost; pick Nova 2 Lite only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ministral 3 14B 2512 is estimated at $0.3 vs $1.55 for Nova 2 Lite, saving $1.25 (80.6% lower).

Cost-first pickMinistral 3 14B 2512

Context-first pickNova 2 Lite

Sample savings$1.2580.6%

10x traffic gap$12.5

Nova 2 Lite has more context, but Ministral 3 14B 2512 saves $1.25 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $12.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Ministral 3 14B 2512 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Ministral 3 14B 2512	Nova 2 Lite
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Ministral 3 14B 2512	$1.1	$2.75
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Ministral 3 14B 2512	$0.4	$2.8
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Ministral 3 14B 2512	$1.2	$12.8

Cheaper input Ministral 3 14B 2512 $0.2 vs $0.3 / 1M

Ministral 3 14B 2512 is $0.1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (33.3% lower; 1.5x difference).

Cheaper output Ministral 3 14B 2512 $0.2 vs $2.5 / 1M

Ministral 3 14B 2512 is $2.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (92% lower; 12.5x difference).

Larger context Nova 2 Lite 262.14K vs 1M

Nova 2 Lite has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).

Sample workload Ministral 3 14B 2512 $0.3 vs $1.55

Ministral 3 14B 2512 is $1.25 cheaper on the standard workload (80.6% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Ministral 3 14B 2512 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Nova 2 Lite 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

Ministral 3 14B 2512 has the lower input price; Ministral 3 14B 2512 has the lower output price; Nova 2 Lite offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Ministral 3 14B 2512 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.3 for Ministral 3 14B 2512 and $1.55 for Nova 2 Lite.

Best Fit

Choose Ministral 3 14B 2512 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose Nova 2 Lite when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ministral 3 14B 2512 is estimated at $0.3 vs $1.55 for Nova 2 Lite, saving $1.25 (80.6% lower).
Ministral 3 14B 2512 is $1.25 cheaper on the standard workload (80.6% lower).
Ministral 3 14B 2512 is $0.1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (33.3% lower; 1.5x difference).
Ministral 3 14B 2512 is $2.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (92% lower; 12.5x difference).
Nova 2 Lite has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Ministral 3 14B 2512 (Mistral)	Nova 2 Lite (Amazon)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.2	$0.3
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.2	$2.5
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.3	$1.55
Context Window	262.14K	1M
Release Date	2025-12-02	2025-12-02
Popularity	#143	#149

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Ministral 3 14B 2512	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ministral 3 14B 2512 is estimated at $0.3 vs $1.55 for Nova 2 Lite, saving $1.25 (80.6% lower).
High-volume input processing	Ministral 3 14B 2512	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Ministral 3 14B 2512	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Nova 2 Lite	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Mistral Nemo can replace Ministral 3 14B 2512 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.04.
Mistral Small 3 can replace Ministral 3 14B 2512 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
Ministral 3 3B 2512 can replace Ministral 3 14B 2512 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.15.
Mistral Small 3.2 24B can replace Ministral 3 14B 2512 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.17.

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.
DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

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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

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Provider catalogs

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Mistral catalog

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Amazon catalog

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