Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is $0.1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (66.7% lower; 3x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Ministral 3 8B 2512 vs Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B
Pick Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B when budget is the priority.
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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 is the priority.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.22 for Ministral 3 8B 2512, saving $0.07 (33.3% lower).
Cost-first pickNemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$0.0733.3%
10x traffic gap$0.75
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.75. 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 Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B, and output-heavy chatbot favors Ministral 3 8B 2512.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B | $0.82 | $0.35 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B | $0.3 | $0.25 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | $0.9 | $1.05 |
Ministral 3 8B 2512 is $0.05 cheaper per 1M output tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
Both models report the same context window at 262.14K tokens.
Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is $0.07 cheaper on the standard workload (33.3% 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; Ministral 3 8B 2512 has the lower output price; both models report the same 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 $0.22 for Ministral 3 8B 2512 and $0.15 for Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B.
Choose Ministral 3 8B 2512 when you care most about lower output-token price.
Choose Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B when you care most about lower input-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.22 for Ministral 3 8B 2512, saving $0.07 (33.3% lower).
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is $0.07 cheaper on the standard workload (33.3% lower).
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is $0.1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (66.7% lower; 3x difference).
- Ministral 3 8B 2512 is $0.05 cheaper per 1M output tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
- Both models report the same context window at 262.14K tokens.
| Feature | Ministral 3 8B 2512 (Mistral) | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (NVIDIA) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.15 | $0.05 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.15 | $0.2 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.22 | $0.15 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 262.14K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #89 | #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 $0.22 for Ministral 3 8B 2512, saving $0.07 (33.3% 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 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | 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
- Mistral Nemo can replace Ministral 3 8B 2512 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.04.
- Mistral Small 3 can replace Ministral 3 8B 2512 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Ministral 3 3B 2512 can replace Ministral 3 8B 2512 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.15.
- Mistral Small 3.2 24B can replace Ministral 3 8B 2512 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.17.
- 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.
- MiMo-V2.5 offers 1.05M context with $0.28 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
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Open provider hubsMistral catalog
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Open Mistral modelsNVIDIA catalog
Check other NVIDIA models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open NVIDIA modelsA balanced model in the Ministral 3 family, Ministral 3 8B is a powerful, efficient tiny language model with vision 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...