Nova Lite 1.0 vs DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus
DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus leads Nova Lite 1.0 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 14.8 to 6.7, and Nova Lite 1.0 costs 4.2x less per output token ($0.24 vs $1.0142 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 30 benchmarks have a result for both.
Nova Lite 1.0 or DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Nova Lite 1.0 for output tokens 4.2x cheaper ($0.24 vs $1.0142 per million) and a larger context window (300K against 164K tokens).
- Shared results
- 30
- Nova Lite 1.0 only
- 11
- DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus only
- 14
- Like-for-like categories
- 7 of 9
Only benchmarks that tested both models count toward a pick; a result only one model has is shown but not compared.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus
DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus leads, 14.8 against 6.7.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus has a AA Agentic Index result, 6.8.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus has a Design Arena: websites result, 1187.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Nova Lite 1.0
Nova Lite 1.0 takes 300K tokens against 164K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Nova Lite 1.0
Nova Lite 1.0 $0.0002, DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus $0.0008 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Nova Lite 1.0 not benchmarked, DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Math, 64.8 points apart on average over 3 shared benchmarks.
- Widest single gap
- AA Math Index: Nova Lite 1.0 7.0 against DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus 89.7, 82.7 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Nova Lite 1.0 $0.24 against DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus $1.0142 per million output tokens, 4.2x apart.
- Context window
- Nova Lite 1.0 takes 300K tokens, DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus 164K.
Benchmark by benchmark
First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.
| Category | Nova Lite 1.0 | Bars | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 4 | ||
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Agentic work | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 4 | ||
| Math | 0 | 3 | ||
| Knowledge | 0 | 5 | ||
| General | 0 | 12 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 30 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index04
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 43.5 | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 16.7% | 79.8% | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| SciCode | Not measured | 38.0% | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 0.8% | 31.8% | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| ALE-Bench | Not measured | 745.2 | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1239 | 1425 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1241 | 1426 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| Neither model has a result on the other 31 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 6.7 | 14.8 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | Not measured | 6.8 | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 17.5% | 37.1% | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| Neither model has a result on the other 37 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index04
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 43.3% | 79.2% | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 4.3% | 16.4% | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1220 | 1426 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1201 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1226 | 1432 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
MathLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index03
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | 7.0 | 89.7 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 7.0% | 89.7% | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: math | 1227 | 1402 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1235 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 9 boards here | |||
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index05
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 59.0% | 85.1% | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| MMLU | 77.0% | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: science | 1232 | 1451 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1213 | 1468 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1238 | 1457 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1219 | 1414 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index7 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1187 | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | Not measured | 1182 | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | Not measured | 1131 | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | Not measured | 1167 | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | Not measured | 1141 | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | Not measured | 1175 | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| Design Arena: SVG | Not measured | 1065 | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 2 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index012
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 34.1% | 57.0% | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 19.0% | 69.3% | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| DTBench | Not measured | 81.3% | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| LMCA | Not measured | 28.6% | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| LMArena Text | 1229 | 1419 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1205 | 1404 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1197 | 1403 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Vision | 990 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1243 | 1429 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1208 | 1408 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1225 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: German | 1229 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1153 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1153 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: French | 1238 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | 1226 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1216 | 1435 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: Polish | Not measured | 1427 | Only DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1199 | 1411 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1234 | 1422 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1211 | 1409 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1176 | 1391 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
| LMArena Vision: English | 999 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 23 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 5 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Nova Lite 1.0 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Nova Lite 1.0 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Nova Lite 1.0 costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | Amazon Nova Lite 1.0 | DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Amazon | DeepSeek |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | December 5, 2024 | September 22, 2025 |
| Context window | 300K | 164K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.06 | $0.3063 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.24 | $1.0142 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Nova Lite 1.0 better than DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Nova Lite 1.0 for output tokens 4.2x cheaper ($0.24 vs $1.0142 per million) and a larger context window (300K against 164K tokens).
Which is cheaper, Nova Lite 1.0 or DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus?
Nova Lite 1.0 costs $0.06 per million input tokens and $0.24 per million output tokens; DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus costs $0.3063 and $1.0142. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Nova Lite 1.0 or DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus?
Nova Lite 1.0, with 300K tokens against 164K.
How many benchmarks is the Nova Lite 1.0 vs DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus comparison based on?
30 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Nova Lite 1.0's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.