Crouton Alpha is free for input tokens while Ling 3.0 Flash VL costs $0.06 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewCrouton Alpha vs Ling 3.0 Flash VL
Pick Crouton Alpha when budget and context both matter.
Page updated:
Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Crouton Alpha when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Crouton Alpha is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Ling 3.0 Flash VL, saving $0.15 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickCrouton Alpha
Context-first pickCrouton Alpha
Sample savings$0.15100%
10x traffic gap$1.5
Crouton Alpha 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
Crouton Alpha stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Crouton Alpha | Ling 3.0 Flash VL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Crouton Alpha | $0 | $0.39 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Crouton Alpha | $0 | $0.24 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Crouton Alpha | $0 | $0.96 |
Crouton Alpha is free for output tokens while Ling 3.0 Flash VL costs $0.18 per 1M tokens.
Crouton Alpha has 917.5K more context (8x larger).
Crouton Alpha 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
Crouton Alpha has the lower input price; Crouton Alpha has the lower output price; Crouton Alpha offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Crouton Alpha is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for Crouton Alpha and $0.15 for Ling 3.0 Flash VL.
Choose Crouton Alpha 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, Crouton Alpha is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Ling 3.0 Flash VL, saving $0.15 (100% lower).
- Crouton Alpha is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.15.
- Crouton Alpha is free for input tokens while Ling 3.0 Flash VL costs $0.06 per 1M tokens.
- Crouton Alpha is free for output tokens while Ling 3.0 Flash VL costs $0.18 per 1M tokens.
- Crouton Alpha has 917.5K more context (8x larger).
| Feature | NewCrouton Alpha (stealth) | 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 | 1.05M | 131.07K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Crouton Alpha | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Crouton Alpha is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Ling 3.0 Flash VL, saving $0.15 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Crouton Alpha | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Crouton Alpha | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Crouton Alpha | 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.
- Kimi K3.1 Pro · MoonshotAI · #1
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 · DeepSeek · #2
- GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #3
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
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Open provider hubsstealth catalog
Review all tracked stealth models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open stealth modelsinclusionAI catalog
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