Model Comparison
Grok-3 Mini vs Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B)Which is better in 2026?
Grok-3 Mini shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) is 1.7x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Grok-3 Mini vs Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) — which is better?
Grok-3 Mini (by xAI) and Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) (by NVIDIA) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.
Grok-3 Mini outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA), while Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) is better at 1 benchmark (LiveCodeBench). Grok-3 Mini shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
On price, Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) is roughly 1.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Grok-3 Mini if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks
Choose Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) if…
- cost matters — it's about 1.7x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2026
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Grok-3 Mini outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA), while Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) is better at 1 benchmark (LiveCodeBench).
Grok-3 Mini shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Grok-3 Mini ($0.30/1M tokens) is 3.0x more expensive than Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, Grok-3 Mini ($0.50/1M tokens) costs the same as Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) ($0.50/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Grok-3 Mini is more expensive than Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B).*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Grok-3 Mini's 128,000 tokens. Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Grok-3 Mini is limited to 8,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Grok-3 Mini supports multimodal inputs, whereas Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) does not.
Grok-3 Mini can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Grok-3 Mini
Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B)
License
Usage and distribution terms
Grok-3 Mini is licensed under a proprietary license, while Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) uses NVIDIA Open Model License Agreement .
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
NVIDIA Open Model License Agreement
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Grok-3 Mini was released on 2025-02-17, while Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) was released on 2026-03-11.
Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) is 13 months newer than Grok-3 Mini.
Feb 17, 2025
1.4 years ago
Mar 11, 2026
4 months ago
1.1yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Grok-3 Mini has a knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) has a cutoff of 2025-06-01.
Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) has more recent training data (up to 2025-06-01), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Grok-3 Mini (2024-11-17).
Nov 2024
Jun 2025
7 mo newerProvider Availability
Grok-3 Mini is available from xAI. Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) is available from DeepInfra.
Grok-3 Mini
Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B)
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Grok-3 Mini and Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B) side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Grok-3 Mini vs Nemotron 3 Super (120B A12B).