GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Nova Lite
Nova Lite leads the LLM Stats Score 8.1 to -8.8. Nova Lite is 7.1x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · Amazon · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Nova Lite leads the overall LLM Stats Score 8.1 to -8.8, ranking #267 overall.
In the 6 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Nova Lite wins 6; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Nova Lite is roughly 7.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Nova Lite also accepts a larger context window (300,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose GPT-3.5 Turbo
- you want predictable pricing at $0.50/M input and $1.50/M output
Choose Nova Lite
- overall performance matters — it scores 8.1 and ranks #267 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 6 of 6 exact shared results
- cost matters — it's about 7.1x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 300,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2024
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
8 reported for GPT-3.5 Turbo · 27 for Nova Lite
GPT-3.5 Turbo outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Nova Lite is better at 6 benchmarks (DROP, GPQA, HumanEval, MATH, MMLU, MMMU).
Nova Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GPT-3.5 Turbo ($0.50/1M tokens) is 8.3x more expensive than Nova Lite ($0.06/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-3.5 Turbo ($1.50/1M tokens) is 6.3x more expensive than Nova Lite ($0.24/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-3.5 Turbo is more expensive than Nova Lite.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Nova Lite accepts 300,000 input tokens compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo's 16,385 tokens. GPT-3.5 Turbo can generate longer responses up to 4,096 tokens, while Nova Lite is limited to 2,048 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Nova Lite supports multimodal inputs, whereas GPT-3.5 Turbo does not.
Nova Lite can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Nova Lite
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.
Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.
Proprietary
Closed source
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GPT-3.5 Turbo was released on 2023-03-21, while Nova Lite was released on 2024-11-20.
Nova Lite is 20 months newer than GPT-3.5 Turbo.
Mar 21, 2023
3.4 years ago
Nov 20, 2024
1.8 years ago
1.7yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-3.5 Turbo has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2021-09-30, while Nova Lite's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm GPT-3.5 Turbo's training data extends to 2021-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without Nova Lite's cutoff date.
Sep 2021
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Provider Availability
GPT-3.5 Turbo is available from Azure, OpenAI. Nova Lite is available from Bedrock.
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Nova Lite
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-3.5 Turbo and Nova Lite side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Nova Lite.