API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewSolar Mini 4 vs Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free)

Pick Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) for lower cost; pick Solar Mini 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) for lower cost; pick Solar Mini 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Solar Mini 4, saving $0.15 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickLing 3.0 Flash Fin (free)
Context-first pickSolar Mini 4
Sample savings$0.15100%
10x traffic gap$1.5

Solar Mini 4 has more context, but Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) saves $0.15 on the standard workload. 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

Same prices, different token mixes.

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickSolar Mini 4Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free)
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputLing 3.0 Flash Fin (free)$0.35$0
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputLing 3.0 Flash Fin (free)$0.25$0
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputLing 3.0 Flash Fin (free)$1.05$0
Cheaper input Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) $0.05 vs $0 / 1M

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is free for input tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.05 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) $0.2 vs $0 / 1M

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is free for output tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.2 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Solar Mini 4 524.29K vs 262.14K

Solar Mini 4 has 262.14K more context (2x larger).

Sample workload Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) $0.15 vs $0

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.15.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Solar Mini 4 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) 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 Fin (free) has the lower input price; Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) has the lower output price; Solar Mini 4 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.15 for Solar Mini 4 and $0 for Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free).

Best Fit

Choose Solar Mini 4 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) 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 Fin (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Solar Mini 4, saving $0.15 (100% lower).
  • Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.15.
  • Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is free for input tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.05 per 1M tokens.
  • Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is free for output tokens while Solar Mini 4 costs $0.2 per 1M tokens.
  • Solar Mini 4 has 262.14K more context (2x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNewSolar Mini 4
(Upstage)
Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free)
(inclusionAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.05$0
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$0.2$0
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$0.15$0
Context Window524.29K262.14K
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionLing 3.0 Flash Fin (free)On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.15 for Solar Mini 4, saving $0.15 (100% lower).
High-volume input processingLing 3.0 Flash Fin (free)Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsLing 3.0 Flash Fin (free)Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workSolar Mini 4A 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.

Cheaper alternatives

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

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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

Upstage catalog

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

Open Upstage models

inclusionAI catalog

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

Open inclusionAI models
Solar Mini 4

Solar Mini 4 is Upstage's compact, cost-efficient language model, a 35B-parameter mixture-of-experts with 3B active parameters and a 524K context window. It is built for agentic use cases where response...

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free)

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin is a finance-focused mixture-of-experts model from InclusionAI, built on Ling 3.0 Flash with 5.1B active parameters out of 124B total. It is designed for real-world investment...