API cost decision in 10 seconds

GPT-5.1 vs NewNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)

Pick Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) for lower cost; pick GPT-5.1 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  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 GPT-5.1 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 $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $6.25 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)
Context-first pickGPT-5.1
Sample savings$6.25100%
10x traffic gap$62.5

GPT-5.1 has more context, but Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) saves $6.25 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $62.5. 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 shapeToken mixBetter pickGPT-5.1Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)$11.25$0
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)$11.25$0
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)$51.25$0
Cheaper input Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) $1.25 vs $0 / 1M

Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for input tokens while GPT-5.1 costs $1.25 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) $10 vs $0 / 1M

Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for output tokens while GPT-5.1 costs $10 per 1M tokens.

Larger context GPT-5.1 400K vs 256K

GPT-5.1 has 144K more context (1.56x larger).

Sample workload Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) $6.25 vs $0

Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $6.25.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
GPT-5.1 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) 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; GPT-5.1 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 $6.25 for GPT-5.1 and $0 for Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free).

Best Fit

Choose GPT-5.1 when you care most about larger context window.

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

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is estimated at $0 vs $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $6.25 (100% lower).
  • Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $6.25.
  • Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for input tokens while GPT-5.1 costs $1.25 per 1M tokens.
  • Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is free for output tokens while GPT-5.1 costs $10 per 1M tokens.
  • GPT-5.1 has 144K more context (1.56x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureGPT-5.1
(OpenAI)
NewNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)
(NVIDIA)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$1.25$0
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$10$0
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$6.25$0
Context Window400K256K
Release Date
Popularity#54#96

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free) is estimated at $0 vs $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $6.25 (100% lower).
High-volume input processingNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workGPT-5.1A 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

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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OpenAI catalog

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NVIDIA catalog

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GPT-5.1 is the latest frontier-grade model in the GPT-5 series, offering stronger general-purpose reasoning, improved instruction adherence, and a more natural conversational style compared to GPT-5. It uses adaptive reasoning...

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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...