API cost decision in 10 seconds

GPT-5.1 vs Nova 2 Lite

Pick Nova 2 Lite when budget and context both matter.

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 Nova 2 Lite when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nova 2 Lite is estimated at $1.55 vs $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $4.7 (75.2% lower).

Cost-first pickNova 2 Lite

Context-first pickNova 2 Lite

Sample savings$4.775.2%

10x traffic gap$47

Nova 2 Lite is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $47. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Nova 2 Lite stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	GPT-5.1	Nova 2 Lite
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Nova 2 Lite	$11.25	$2.75
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Nova 2 Lite	$11.25	$2.8
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Nova 2 Lite	$51.25	$12.8

Cheaper input Nova 2 Lite $1.25 vs $0.3 / 1M

Nova 2 Lite is $0.95 cheaper per 1M input tokens (76% lower; 4.17x difference).

Cheaper output Nova 2 Lite $10 vs $2.5 / 1M

Nova 2 Lite is $7.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (75% lower; 4x difference).

Larger context Nova 2 Lite 400K vs 1M

Nova 2 Lite has 600K more context (2.5x larger).

Sample workload Nova 2 Lite $6.25 vs $1.55

Nova 2 Lite is $4.7 cheaper on the standard workload (75.2% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

GPT-5.1 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

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

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $6.25 for GPT-5.1 and $1.55 for Nova 2 Lite.

Best Fit

Choose GPT-5.1 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Choose Nova 2 Lite when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nova 2 Lite is estimated at $1.55 vs $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $4.7 (75.2% lower).
Nova 2 Lite is $4.7 cheaper on the standard workload (75.2% lower).
Nova 2 Lite is $0.95 cheaper per 1M input tokens (76% lower; 4.17x difference).
Nova 2 Lite is $7.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (75% lower; 4x difference).
Nova 2 Lite has 600K more context (2.5x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	GPT-5.1 (OpenAI)	Nova 2 Lite (Amazon)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$1.25	$0.3
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$10	$2.5
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$6.25	$1.55
Context Window	400K	1M
Release Date	2025-11-13	2025-12-02
Popularity	#54	#149

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Nova 2 Lite	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nova 2 Lite is estimated at $1.55 vs $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $4.7 (75.2% lower).
High-volume input processing	Nova 2 Lite	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Nova 2 Lite	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

gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

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Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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OpenAI catalog

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

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Amazon catalog

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

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