Model Comparison

o3-mini vs Nova LiteWhich is better in 2026?

o3-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Nova Lite is 18.3x cheaper per token.

Verdict: o3-mini vs Nova Lite — which is better?

o3-mini (by OpenAI) and Nova Lite (by Amazon) 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.

o3-mini outperforms in 4 benchmarks (GPQA, IFEval, MATH, MMLU), while Nova Lite is better at 0 benchmarks. o3-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Nova Lite is roughly 18.3x 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 o3-mini if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 4 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2025

Choose Nova Lite if…

  • cost matters — it's about 18.3x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 300,000 token context window
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

o3-mini outperforms in 4 benchmarks (GPQA, IFEval, MATH, MMLU), while Nova Lite is better at 0 benchmarks.

o3-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Thu Jun 11 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Nova Lite costs less

For input processing, o3-mini ($1.10/1M tokens) is 18.3x more expensive than Nova Lite ($0.06/1M tokens).

For output processing, o3-mini ($4.40/1M tokens) is 18.3x more expensive than Nova Lite ($0.24/1M tokens).

In conclusion, o3-mini is more expensive than Nova Lite.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Thu Jun 11 2026 • llm-stats.com
OpenAI
o3-mini
Input tokens$1.10
Output tokens$4.40
Best providerAzure
Amazon
Nova Lite
Input tokens$0.06
Output tokens$0.24
Best providerAWS Bedrock
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 o3-mini's 200,000 tokens. o3-mini can generate longer responses up to 100,000 tokens, while Nova Lite is limited to 2,048 tokens.

OpenAI
o3-mini
Input200,000 tokens
Output100,000 tokens
Amazon
Nova Lite
Input300,000 tokens
Output2,048 tokens
Thu Jun 11 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Nova Lite supports multimodal inputs, whereas o3-mini does not.

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

o3-mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Nova Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.

Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.

o3-mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Nova Lite

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

o3-mini was released on 2025-01-30, while Nova Lite was released on 2024-11-20.

o3-mini is 2 months newer than Nova Lite.

o3-mini

Jan 30, 2025

1.4 years ago

2mo newer
Nova Lite

Nov 20, 2024

1.6 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

o3-mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-09-30, while Nova Lite's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm o3-mini's training data extends to 2023-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without Nova Lite's cutoff date.

o3-mini

Sep 2023

Nova Lite

—

Provider Availability

o3-mini is available from Azure, OpenAI. Nova Lite is available from Bedrock.

o3-mini

azure logo
Azure
Input Price:Input: $1.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $4.40/1M
openai logo
OpenAI
Input Price:Input: $1.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $4.40/1M

Nova Lite

bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $0.06/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.24/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Higher GPQA score (77.2% vs 42.0%)
Higher IFEval score (93.9% vs 89.7%)
Higher MATH score (97.9% vs 73.3%)
Higher MMLU score (86.9% vs 80.5%)
Amazon
Larger context window (300,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
o3-mini
Amazon
Nova Lite

FAQ

Common questions about o3-mini vs Nova Lite.

Which is better, o3-mini or Nova Lite?

o3-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. o3-mini is made by OpenAI and Nova Lite is made by Amazon. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does o3-mini compare to Nova Lite in benchmarks?

o3-mini scores COLLIE: 98.7%, MATH: 97.9%, IFEval: 93.9%, MGSM: 92.0%, AIME 2024: 87.3%. Nova Lite scores GSM8k: 94.5%, ARC-C: 92.4%, DocVQA: 92.4%, IFEval: 89.7%, Translation en→Set1 COMET22: 88.8%.

Is o3-mini cheaper than Nova Lite?

Nova Lite is 18.3x cheaper for input tokens. o3-mini costs $1.10/M input and $4.40/M output via azure. Nova Lite costs $0.06/M input and $0.24/M output via bedrock.

What are the context window sizes for o3-mini and Nova Lite?

o3-mini supports 200K tokens and Nova Lite supports 300K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between o3-mini and Nova Lite?

Key differences include context window (200K vs 300K), input pricing ($1.10 vs $0.06/M), multimodal support (no vs yes). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes o3-mini and Nova Lite?

o3-mini is developed by OpenAI and Nova Lite is developed by Amazon.

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