Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for input tokens while GPT-5 Chat costs $1.25 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
GPT-5 Chat vs Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free)
Pick Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) when budget is the priority.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) when budget is the priority.
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 Chat, saving $6.25 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickNemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free)
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$6.25100%
10x traffic gap$62.5
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. 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 Chat | 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 |
Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for output tokens while GPT-5 Chat costs $10 per 1M tokens.
Both models report the same context window at 128K tokens.
Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $6.25.
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; both models report the same 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 $6.25 for GPT-5 Chat and $0 for Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free).
Choose GPT-5 Chat when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
Choose Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- 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 Chat, saving $6.25 (100% lower).
- Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $6.25.
- Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for input tokens while GPT-5 Chat costs $1.25 per 1M tokens.
- Nemotron Nano 12B 2 VL (free) is free for output tokens while GPT-5 Chat costs $10 per 1M tokens.
- Both models report the same context window at 128K tokens.
| Feature | GPT-5 Chat (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 | 128K | 128K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #111 | #128 |
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 Chat, saving $6.25 (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 | Tie | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5 Chat when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5 Chat when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5 Chat when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
- gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5 Chat when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.
- 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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Open NVIDIA modelsGPT-5 Chat is designed for advanced, natural, multimodal, and context-aware conversations for enterprise applications.
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