API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) vs Grok 4.20

Pick Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) for lower cost; pick Grok 4.20 only if the larger context window matters more.

Pricing data updated: 2026-05-26T11:08:00Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) for lower cost; pick Grok 4.20 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is estimated at $0 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $2.5 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)

Context-first pickGrok 4.20

Sample savings$2.5100%

10x traffic gap$25

Grok 4.20 has more context, but Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) saves $2.5 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $25. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)	Grok 4.20
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)	$0	$7.5
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)	$0	$3.75
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)	$0	$13.75

Cheaper input Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) $0 vs $1.25 / 1M

Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for input tokens while Grok 4.20 costs $1.25 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) $0 vs $2.5 / 1M

Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for output tokens while Grok 4.20 costs $2.5 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Grok 4.20 256K vs 2M

Grok 4.20 has 1.74M more context (7.81x larger).

Sample workload Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) $0 vs $2.5

Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $2.5.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) Calculating… Estimated API cost

Grok 4.20 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

Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) has the lower input price; Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) has the lower output price; Grok 4.20 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) and $2.5 for Grok 4.20.

Best Fit

Choose Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose Grok 4.20 when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is estimated at $0 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $2.5 (100% lower).
Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $2.5.
Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for input tokens while Grok 4.20 costs $1.25 per 1M tokens.
Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for output tokens while Grok 4.20 costs $2.5 per 1M tokens.
Grok 4.20 has 1.74M more context (7.81x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) (NVIDIA)	Grok 4.20 (xAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0	$1.25
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0	$2.5
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0	$2.5
Context Window	256K	2M
Release Date	2026-04-28	2026-03-31

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is estimated at $0 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $2.5 (100% lower).
High-volume input processing	Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Grok 4.20	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Grok Build 0.1 can replace Grok 4.20 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

No popular competitor is currently available.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

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

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

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

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NVIDIA catalog

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

Open NVIDIA models

xAI catalog

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

Open xAI models

Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)

NVIDIA Nemotron™ 3 Nano Omni is a 30B-A3B open multimodal model designed to function as a perception and context sub-agent in enterprise agent systems. It accepts text, image, video, and...

Grok 4.20

Grok 4.20 is a reasoning model from xAI with industry-leading speed and agentic tool calling capabilities. It combines the lowest hallucination rate on the market with strict prompt adherance, delivering...