API cost decision in 10 seconds

🔥Hy4 preview vs NewLing 3.0 Flash VL

Pick Ling 3.0 Flash VL for lower cost; pick Hy4 preview only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-09-11T13:07:36Z Data confirmed: 2026-09-12T06:08:18Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Ling 3.0 Flash VL for lower cost; pick Hy4 preview only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ling 3.0 Flash VL is estimated at $0.15 vs $2.08 for Hy4 preview, saving $1.93 (92.8% lower).

Cost-first pickLing 3.0 Flash VL

Context-first pickHy4 preview

Sample savings$1.9392.8%

10x traffic gap$19.34

Hy4 preview has more context, but Ling 3.0 Flash VL saves $1.93 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $19.34. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Ling 3.0 Flash VL stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Hy4 preview	Ling 3.0 Flash VL
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Ling 3.0 Flash VL	$5.42	$0.39
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Ling 3.0 Flash VL	$3.33	$0.24
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Ling 3.0 Flash VL	$13.34	$0.96

Cheaper input Ling 3.0 Flash VL $0.834 vs $0.06 / 1M

Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $0.77 cheaper per 1M input tokens (92.8% lower; 13.9x difference).

Cheaper output Ling 3.0 Flash VL $2.501 vs $0.18 / 1M

Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $2.32 cheaper per 1M output tokens (92.8% lower; 13.9x difference).

Larger context Hy4 preview 1.05M vs 131.07K

Hy4 preview has 917.5K more context (8x larger).

Sample workload Ling 3.0 Flash VL $2.08 vs $0.15

Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $1.93 cheaper on the standard workload (92.8% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Hy4 preview Calculating… Estimated API cost

Ling 3.0 Flash VL 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

Ling 3.0 Flash VL has the lower input price; Ling 3.0 Flash VL has the lower output price; Hy4 preview offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Ling 3.0 Flash VL is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2.08 for Hy4 preview and $0.15 for Ling 3.0 Flash VL.

Best Fit

Choose Hy4 preview when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Ling 3.0 Flash VL when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ling 3.0 Flash VL is estimated at $0.15 vs $2.08 for Hy4 preview, saving $1.93 (92.8% lower).
Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $1.93 cheaper on the standard workload (92.8% lower).
Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $0.77 cheaper per 1M input tokens (92.8% lower; 13.9x difference).
Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $2.32 cheaper per 1M output tokens (92.8% lower; 13.9x difference).
Hy4 preview has 917.5K more context (8x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	🔥Hy4 preview (Tencent)	NewLing 3.0 Flash VL (inclusionAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.834	$0.06
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$2.501	$0.18
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$2.08	$0.15
Context Window	1.05M	131.07K
Release Date	2026-08-28	2026-09-10
Popularity	#1

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Ling 3.0 Flash VL	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ling 3.0 Flash VL is estimated at $0.15 vs $2.08 for Hy4 preview, saving $1.93 (92.8% lower).
High-volume input processing	Ling 3.0 Flash VL	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Ling 3.0 Flash VL	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Hy4 preview	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Hy3 (free) can replace Hy4 preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Hy-MT2-1.8B can replace Hy4 preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.
Hy-MT2-30B-A3B can replace Hy4 preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.22.
Hy-MT2-7B can replace Hy4 preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.22.

Larger context near this budget

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
GLM 5.3 Flash offers 1.31M context with $0.4 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.08 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

GPT-5.6 Luna · OpenAI · #2
GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #3
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #4
MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #5

Cheaper alternatives

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

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

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

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

Open provider hubs

Tencent catalog

Review all tracked Tencent models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

Open Tencent models

inclusionAI catalog

Check other inclusionAI models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open inclusionAI models

Hy4 preview

Tencent: Hy4 preview is a mixture-of-experts model from Tencent, with 49B active parameters out of 770B total. It is designed for coding agents, complex tool-use workflows, and productivity tasks that...

Ling 3.0 Flash VL

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...