API cost decision in 10 seconds
GPT-5.1 vs Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free)
Pick Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) for lower cost; pick GPT-5.1 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 GPT-5.1 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 $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $6.25 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickNemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free)
Context-first pickGPT-5.1
Sample savings$6.25100%
10x traffic gap$62.5
GPT-5.1 has more context, but Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (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
Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | GPT-5.1 | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | $11.25 | $0 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | $11.25 | $0 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | $51.25 | $0 |
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, and GPT-5.1 offers the larger context window.
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 Nano 12B 2 VL (free).
Choose GPT-5.1 when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
| Feature | GPT-5.1 (OpenAI) | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (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 Window | 400K | 128K |
| Release Date | 2025-11-13 | 2025-10-28 |
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...
NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 2 VL is a 12-billion-parameter open multimodal reasoning model designed for video understanding and document intelligence. It introduces a hybrid Transformer-Mamba architecture, combining transformer-level accuracy with Mamba’s...
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 $6.25 for GPT-5.1, saving $6.25 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts or retrieved passages 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 | GPT-5.1 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages and source files. |