Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) is free for input tokens while Qwen3.6 27B costs $0.3 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Qwen3.6 27B vs Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free)
Pick Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) for lower cost; pick Qwen3.6 27B 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 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) for lower cost; pick Qwen3.6 27B only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $1.3 for Qwen3.6 27B, saving $1.3 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickNemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free)
Context-first pickQwen3.6 27B
Sample savings$1.3100%
10x traffic gap$13
Qwen3.6 27B has more context, but Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) saves $1.3 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $13. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3.6 27B | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) | $2.5 | $0 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) | $2.3 | $0 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) | $10.3 | $0 |
Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) is free for output tokens while Qwen3.6 27B costs $2 per 1M tokens.
Qwen3.6 27B has 6.14K more context (1.02x larger).
Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $1.3.
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 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) has the lower input price; Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) has the lower output price; Qwen3.6 27B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.3 for Qwen3.6 27B and $0 for Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free).
Choose Qwen3.6 27B when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (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 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $1.3 for Qwen3.6 27B, saving $1.3 (100% lower).
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $1.3.
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) is free for input tokens while Qwen3.6 27B costs $0.3 per 1M tokens.
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) is free for output tokens while Qwen3.6 27B costs $2 per 1M tokens.
- Qwen3.6 27B has 6.14K more context (1.02x larger).
| Feature | Qwen3.6 27B (Qwen) | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) (NVIDIA) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.3 | $0 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $2 | $0 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $1.3 | $0 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 256K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $1.3 for Qwen3.6 27B, saving $1.3 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (free) | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Qwen3.6 27B | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3.6 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.6 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3.6 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Qwen3.5-9B can replace Qwen3.6 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.11.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite offers 1.05M context with $1 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 sample workload cost.
- No popular competitor is currently available.
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsQwen catalog
Review all tracked Qwen models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Qwen modelsNVIDIA catalog
Check other NVIDIA models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open NVIDIA modelsQwen3.6 27B is a dense 27-billion-parameter language model from the Qwen Team at Alibaba, released in April 2026. It features hybrid multimodal capabilities — accepting text, image, and video inputs...
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is a small language MoE model with highest compute efficiency and accuracy for developers to build specialized agentic AI systems. The model is fully...