API cost decision in 10 seconds

Llama 3 8B Lunaris vs Nova Micro 1.0

Pick Llama 3 8B Lunaris for lower cost; pick Nova Micro 1.0 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T19:08:13Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Llama 3 8B Lunaris for lower cost; pick Nova Micro 1.0 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is estimated at $0.07 vs $0.11 for Nova Micro 1.0, saving $0.04 (38.1% lower).

Cost-first pickLlama 3 8B Lunaris

Context-first pickNova Micro 1.0

Sample savings$0.0438.1%

10x traffic gap$0.4

Nova Micro 1.0 has more context, but Llama 3 8B Lunaris saves $0.04 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.4. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Llama 3 8B Lunaris stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	Nova Micro 1.0
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	$0.23	$0.25
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	$0.09	$0.18
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	$0.29	$0.74

Cheaper input Nova Micro 1.0 $0.04 vs $0.035 / 1M

Nova Micro 1.0 is $0.005 cheaper per 1M input tokens (12.5% lower; 1.14x difference).

Cheaper output Llama 3 8B Lunaris $0.05 vs $0.14 / 1M

Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $0.09 cheaper per 1M output tokens (64.3% lower; 2.8x difference).

Larger context Nova Micro 1.0 8.19K vs 128K

Nova Micro 1.0 has 119.81K more context (15.6x larger).

Sample workload Llama 3 8B Lunaris $0.07 vs $0.11

Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $0.04 cheaper on the standard workload (38.1% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Llama 3 8B Lunaris Calculating… Estimated API cost

Nova Micro 1.0 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 Micro 1.0 has the lower input price; Llama 3 8B Lunaris has the lower output price; Nova Micro 1.0 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.07 for Llama 3 8B Lunaris and $0.11 for Nova Micro 1.0.

Best Fit

Choose Llama 3 8B Lunaris when you care most about lower output-token price.

Choose Nova Micro 1.0 when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is estimated at $0.07 vs $0.11 for Nova Micro 1.0, saving $0.04 (38.1% lower).
Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $0.04 cheaper on the standard workload (38.1% lower).
Nova Micro 1.0 is $0.005 cheaper per 1M input tokens (12.5% lower; 1.14x difference).
Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $0.09 cheaper per 1M output tokens (64.3% lower; 2.8x difference).
Nova Micro 1.0 has 119.81K more context (15.6x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Llama 3 8B Lunaris (Sao10K)	Nova Micro 1.0 (Amazon)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.04	$0.035
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.05	$0.14
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.07	$0.11
Context Window	8.19K	128K
Release Date	2024-08-13	2024-12-05
Popularity	#115	#146

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is estimated at $0.07 vs $0.11 for Nova Micro 1.0, saving $0.04 (38.1% lower).
High-volume input processing	Nova Micro 1.0	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Llama 3 8B Lunaris	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Nova Micro 1.0	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

No lower-cost same-provider swap is currently tracked for this pair.

Larger context near this budget

Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
Lyria 3 Clip Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
Lyria 3 Pro Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

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Provider catalogs

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Sao10K catalog

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Amazon catalog

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Nova Micro 1.0

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