Flint (free) is free for input tokens while Ling 3.0 Flash VL costs $0.06 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewFlint (free) vs Ling 3.0 Flash VL
Pick Flint (free) when budget and context both matter.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Flint (free) when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Flint (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Ling 3.0 Flash VL, saving $0.15 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickFlint (free)
Context-first pickFlint (free)
Sample savings$0.15100%
10x traffic gap$1.5
Flint (free) is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Flint (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Flint (free) | Ling 3.0 Flash VL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Flint (free) | $0 | $0.39 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Flint (free) | $0 | $0.24 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Flint (free) | $0 | $0.96 |
Flint (free) is free for output tokens while Ling 3.0 Flash VL costs $0.18 per 1M tokens.
Flint (free) has 131.07K more context (2x larger).
Flint (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.15.
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
Flint (free) has the lower input price; Flint (free) has the lower output price; Flint (free) offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Flint (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for Flint (free) and $0.15 for Ling 3.0 Flash VL.
Choose Flint (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.
Choose Ling 3.0 Flash VL when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Flint (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Ling 3.0 Flash VL, saving $0.15 (100% lower).
- Flint (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.15.
- Flint (free) is free for input tokens while Ling 3.0 Flash VL costs $0.06 per 1M tokens.
- Flint (free) is free for output tokens while Ling 3.0 Flash VL costs $0.18 per 1M tokens.
- Flint (free) has 131.07K more context (2x larger).
| Feature | NewFlint (free) (Recursive) | Ling 3.0 Flash VL (inclusionAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0 | $0.06 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0 | $0.18 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0 | $0.15 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 131.07K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Flint (free) | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Flint (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Ling 3.0 Flash VL, saving $0.15 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Flint (free) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Flint (free) | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Flint (free) | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Ling 3.0 Flash VL (free) can replace Ling 3.0 Flash VL when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Ling 3.0 Flash Sante (free) can replace Ling 3.0 Flash VL when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) can replace Ling 3.0 Flash VL when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) can replace Ling 3.0 Flash VL when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- GPT-6 Luna Pro (batch) offers 1.05M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
- GPT-6 Luna (batch) offers 1.05M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.07 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #2
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 · DeepSeek · #3
- MiMo-V2.6-Flash · Xiaomi · #4
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 hubsRecursive catalog
Review all tracked Recursive models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Recursive modelsinclusionAI catalog
Check other inclusionAI models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open inclusionAI modelsFlint is an open-weight mixture-of-experts model from Recursive, with about 2.5B active parameters out of 40B total, built by Recursive's autoresearch system Eureka Machine for coding agents. It is suited...
Ling 3.0 Flash VL builds on Ling 3.0 Flash (124B total / 5.5B active MoE from InclusionAI), further strengthening its language capabilities while adding native visual perception and advanced visual...