API cost decision in 10 seconds

GPT Audio vs Nova 2 Lite

Pick Nova 2 Lite when budget and context both matter.

Pricing data updated: 2026-05-26T11:08:00Z 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 $7.5 for GPT Audio, saving $5.95 (79.3% lower).

Cost-first pickNova 2 Lite

Context-first pickNova 2 Lite

Sample savings$5.9579.3%

10x traffic gap$59.5

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 $59.5. 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 Audio	Nova 2 Lite
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Nova 2 Lite	$17.5	$2.75
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Nova 2 Lite	$12.5	$2.8
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Nova 2 Lite	$52.5	$12.8

Cheaper input Nova 2 Lite $2.5 vs $0.3 / 1M

Nova 2 Lite is $2.2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (88% lower; 8.33x 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 128K vs 1M

Nova 2 Lite has 872K more context (7.81x larger).

Sample workload Nova 2 Lite $7.5 vs $1.55

Nova 2 Lite is $5.95 cheaper on the standard workload (79.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

GPT Audio 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 $7.5 for GPT Audio and $1.55 for Nova 2 Lite.

Best Fit

Choose GPT Audio 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 $7.5 for GPT Audio, saving $5.95 (79.3% lower).
Nova 2 Lite is $5.95 cheaper on the standard workload (79.3% lower).
Nova 2 Lite is $2.2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (88% lower; 8.33x difference).
Nova 2 Lite is $7.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (75% lower; 4x difference).
Nova 2 Lite has 872K more context (7.81x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	GPT Audio (OpenAI)	Nova 2 Lite (Amazon)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$2.5	$0.3
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$10	$2.5
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$7.5	$1.55
Context Window	128K	1M
Release Date	2026-01-19	2025-12-02

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 $7.5 for GPT Audio, saving $5.95 (79.3% 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 Audio when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT Audio when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT Audio when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT Audio 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 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

No popular competitor is currently available.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

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Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

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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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