Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for input tokens while Granite 4.0 Micro costs $0.02 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) vs Granite 4.0 Micro
Pick Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) for lower cost; pick Granite 4.0 Micro only if the larger context window matters more.
Pricing data updated:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) for lower cost; pick Granite 4.0 Micro only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.07 for Granite 4.0 Micro, saving $0.07 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickNemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free)
Context-first pickGranite 4.0 Micro
Sample savings$0.07100%
10x traffic gap$0.73
Granite 4.0 Micro has more context, but Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) saves $0.07 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.73. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | Granite 4.0 Micro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | $0 | $0.14 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | $0 | $0.13 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | $0 | $0.58 |
Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for output tokens while Granite 4.0 Micro costs $0.11 per 1M tokens.
Granite 4.0 Micro has 3K more context (1.02x larger).
Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.07.
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 Nano 12B 2 VL (free) has the lower input price; Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) has the lower output price; Granite 4.0 Micro offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (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 Nano 12B 2 VL (free) and $0.07 for Granite 4.0 Micro.
Choose Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose Granite 4.0 Micro when you care most about larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.07 for Granite 4.0 Micro, saving $0.07 (100% lower).
- Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.07.
- Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for input tokens while Granite 4.0 Micro costs $0.02 per 1M tokens.
- Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for output tokens while Granite 4.0 Micro costs $0.11 per 1M tokens.
- Granite 4.0 Micro has 3K more context (1.02x larger).
| Feature | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) (NVIDIA) | Granite 4.0 Micro (IBM) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0 | $0.017 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0 | $0.112 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0 | $0.07 |
| Context Window | 128K | 131K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.07 for Granite 4.0 Micro, saving $0.07 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Granite 4.0 Micro | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- No lower-cost same-provider swap is currently tracked for this pair.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- Lyria 3 Pro Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- Lyria 3 Clip Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- No popular competitor is currently available.
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
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Open provider hubsNVIDIA catalog
Review all tracked NVIDIA models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open NVIDIA modelsIBM catalog
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