Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs Solar Pro 3
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning leads Solar Pro 3 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 12.9 to 7.8, and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs 4.1x less per output token ($0.147 vs $0.60 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 7 benchmarks have a result for both.
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning or Solar Pro 3: which to pick
Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has a coding score, 22.6 on the Vibe Coding Index; Solar Pro 3 has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
- Shared results
- 7
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning only
- 13
- Solar Pro 3 only
- 3
- Like-for-like categories
- 5 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
Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has a coding score, so no call is made.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning leads, 12.9 against 7.8.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning leads, 3.5 against 1.4.
Same board, both measured
Long documents
Listed context window
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning takes 262K tokens against 131K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning $0.0001, Solar Pro 3 $0.0004 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
No call
Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has the number, $0.06.
Directional only
At a glance
- Coding index
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 22.6 from 2 benchmarks, Solar Pro 3 not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- General, 28.0 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- Long context reasoning (AA-LCR): Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 60.3% against Solar Pro 3 32.3%, 28.0 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning $0.147 against Solar Pro 3 $0.60 per million output tokens, 4.1x apart.
- Context window
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning takes 262K tokens, Solar Pro 3 131K.
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 | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Bars | Solar Pro 3 | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 2 | 0 | ||
| Intelligence | 1 | 0 | ||
| Agentic work | 1 | 0 | ||
| Reasoning | 2 | 0 | ||
| General | 1 | 0 | ||
| All shared boards | 7 | 0 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index20
| Benchmark | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | 26.8 | 16.2 | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning |
| SWE-bench Verified (Vals AI) | 52.8% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | 0.0% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Code migration (Vals AI) | 3.0% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| ProgramBench (Vals AI) | 0.0% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Terminal-Bench 2.1 (Vals AI) | 10.9% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| CyberBench (Vals AI) | 29.5% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| SciCode | 32.1% | 25.5% | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 7.6% | Only Solar Pro 3 measured |
| ALE-Bench | 769.2 | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 29 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 12.9 | 7.8 | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | 3.5 | 1.4 | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning |
| Finance Agent (Vals AI) | 18.5% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Tax Agent Bench (Vals AI) | 2.6% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Legal Research Bench (Vals AI) | 2.9% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Excel Modeling Benchmark (Vals AI) | 17.0% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 86.3% | Only Solar Pro 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 35 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index20
| Benchmark | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 74.3% | 72.4% | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 10.6% | 10.3% | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning |
| Neither model has a result on the other 20 boards here | |||
MathNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 13 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| CorpFin (Vals AI) | 54.2% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 17 boards here | |||
Web designNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 9 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Solar Pro 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MedScribe (Vals AI) | 4.3% | Not measured | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| IFBench | Not measured | 71.2% | Only Solar Pro 3 measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 60.3% | 32.3% | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning |
| Neither model has a result on the other 43 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Solar Pro 3 | 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
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 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 | NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Upstage Solar Pro 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | NVIDIA | Upstage |
| Weights | Open weights | No public weights listed |
| Released | August 11, 2026 | January 27, 2026 |
| Context window | 262K | 131K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.0534 | $0.15 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.147 | $0.60 |
| Coding index | 22.6 | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 2 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | $0.06 | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Nemotron 3.5 Lightning better than Solar Pro 3 for coding?
Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has a coding score, 22.6 on the Vibe Coding Index; Solar Pro 3 has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
Which is cheaper, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning or Solar Pro 3?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs $0.0534 per million input tokens and $0.147 per million output tokens; Solar Pro 3 costs $0.15 and $0.60. Cost per solved task is known for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning only.
Which has the bigger context window, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning or Solar Pro 3?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning, with 262K tokens against 131K.
How many benchmarks is the Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs Solar Pro 3 comparison based on?
7 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning's coding index rests on 2 independent benchmarks and Solar Pro 3's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.