Model Comparison

Nova Lite vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks. Nova Lite is 4.6x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Nova Lite vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct — which is better?

Nova Lite (by Amazon) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) 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.

Nova Lite outperforms in 1 benchmarks (IFEval), while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA). Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.

On price, Nova Lite is roughly 4.6x 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.

Choose Nova Lite if…

  • cost matters — it's about 4.6x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 300,000 token context window

Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Nova Lite outperforms in 1 benchmarks (IFEval), while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).

Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.

Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Nova Lite costs less

For input processing, Nova Lite ($0.06/1M tokens) is 2.5x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($0.15/1M tokens).

For output processing, Nova Lite ($0.24/1M tokens) is 6.3x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($1.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is more expensive than Nova Lite.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com
Amazon
Nova Lite
Input tokens$0.06
Output tokens$0.24
Best providerAWS Bedrock
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$1.50
Best providerNovita
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Nova Lite accepts 300,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct's 65,536 tokens. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct can generate longer responses up to 65,536 tokens, while Nova Lite is limited to 2,048 tokens.

Amazon
Nova Lite
Input300,000 tokens
Output2,048 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Input65,536 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Nova Lite supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct does not.

Nova Lite can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Nova Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Nova Lite is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Nova Lite

Proprietary

Closed source

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Nova Lite was released on 2024-11-20, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct was released on 2025-09-10.

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is 10 months newer than Nova Lite.

Nova Lite

Nov 20, 2024

1.5 years ago

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Sep 10, 2025

9 months ago

9mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Nova Lite is available from Bedrock. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is available from Novita.

Nova Lite

bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $0.06/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.24/1M

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Amazon
Larger context window (300,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher IFEval score (89.7% vs 87.6%)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Has open weights
Higher GPQA score (72.9% vs 42.0%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Amazon
Nova Lite
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Nova Lite vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.

Which is better, Nova Lite or Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks. Nova Lite is made by Amazon and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Nova Lite compare to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct in benchmarks?

Nova Lite scores GSM8k: 94.5%, ARC-C: 92.4%, DocVQA: 92.4%, IFEval: 89.7%, Translation en→Set1 COMET22: 88.8%. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct scores MMLU-Redux: 90.9%, MultiPL-E: 87.8%, IFEval: 87.6%, WritingBench: 87.3%, Creative Writing v3: 85.3%.

Is Nova Lite cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Nova Lite is 2.5x cheaper for input tokens. Nova Lite costs $0.06/M input and $0.24/M output via bedrock. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct costs $0.15/M input and $1.50/M output via novita.

What are the context window sizes for Nova Lite and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Nova Lite supports 300K tokens and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct supports 66K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Nova Lite and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Key differences include context window (300K vs 66K), input pricing ($0.06 vs $0.15/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Nova Lite and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Nova Lite is developed by Amazon and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

Related comparisons