Nova Lite 1.0 vs Ministral 3 8B 2512
Nova Lite 1.0 leads Ministral 3 8B 2512 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 6.7 to 5.5, and Ministral 3 8B 2512 costs 1.6x less per output token ($0.15 vs $0.24 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 1 benchmarks have a result for both.
Nova Lite 1.0 or Ministral 3 8B 2512: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Nova Lite 1.0 for a larger context window (300K against 262K tokens).
- Shared results
- 1
- Nova Lite 1.0 only
- 40
- Ministral 3 8B 2512 only
- 6
- Like-for-like categories
- 1 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
Nova Lite 1.0
Nova Lite 1.0 leads, 6.7 against 5.5.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 has a AA Agentic Index result, 0.6.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1065.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Nova Lite 1.0
Nova Lite 1.0 takes 300K tokens against 262K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Nova Lite 1.0
Nova Lite 1.0 $0.0002, Ministral 3 8B 2512 $0.0002 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Nova Lite 1.0 not benchmarked, Ministral 3 8B 2512 not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Intelligence, 1.2 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- AA Intelligence Index: Nova Lite 1.0 6.7 against Ministral 3 8B 2512 5.5, 1.2 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Nova Lite 1.0 $0.24 against Ministral 3 8B 2512 $0.15 per million output tokens, 1.6x apart.
- Context window
- Nova Lite 1.0 takes 300K tokens, Ministral 3 8B 2512 262K.
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 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 1 | 0 | ||
| All shared boards | 1 | 0 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 9.7 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 16.7% | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 0.8% | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1239 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1241 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 34 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 6.7 | 5.5 | Nova Lite 1.0 |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | Not measured | 0.6 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 17.5% | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 39 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 43.3% | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 4.3% | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1220 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1201 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1226 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 17 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | 7.0 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 7.0% | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: math | 1227 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1235 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 9 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index6 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 59.0% | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| MMLU | 77.0% | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: science | 1232 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1213 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1238 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1219 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1065 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | Not measured | 990 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | Not measured | 1031 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | Not measured | 1053 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 5 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index20 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 34.1% | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 19.0% | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text | 1229 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1205 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1197 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Vision | 990 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1243 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1208 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| 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 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1199 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1234 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1211 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1176 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| LMArena Vision: English | 999 | Not measured | Only Nova Lite 1.0 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 26 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova Lite 1.0 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | 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 | Mistral Ministral 3 8B 2512 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Amazon | Mistral AI |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | December 5, 2024 | December 2, 2025 |
| Context window | 300K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.06 | $0.15 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.24 | $0.15 |
| 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 Ministral 3 8B 2512 for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Nova Lite 1.0 for a larger context window (300K against 262K tokens).
Which is cheaper, Nova Lite 1.0 or Ministral 3 8B 2512?
Nova Lite 1.0 costs $0.06 per million input tokens and $0.24 per million output tokens; Ministral 3 8B 2512 costs $0.15 and $0.15. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Nova Lite 1.0 or Ministral 3 8B 2512?
Nova Lite 1.0, with 300K tokens against 262K.
How many benchmarks is the Nova Lite 1.0 vs Ministral 3 8B 2512 comparison based on?
1 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Nova Lite 1.0's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Ministral 3 8B 2512's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.