Aion-2.0 vs GLM-4.6 vs Nova 2 Lite
Nova 2 Lite comes out ahead, 61 to 41 and 39 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Aion Labs
Aion-2.0
39/100- ECI—
- Price$0.80 / $1.60
- Context131K
Z.ai (Zhipu)GLM-4.6
41/100- ECI—
- Price$0.60 / $2.20
- Context205K
- Our pick
AmazonNova 2 Lite
61/100- ECI—
- Price$0.315 / $2.63
- Context1M
Nova 2 Lite is our pick
Nova 2 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 61/100 against GLM-4.6 (41) and Aion-2.0 (39). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceNova 2 LiteNova 2 Lite $0.892 · Aion-2.0 $1.00 · GLM-4.6 $1.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextNova 2 LiteNova 2 Lite 1,000,000 · GLM-4.6 204,800 · Aion-2.0 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsNova 2 LiteAion-2.0: Text · GLM-4.6: Text · Nova 2 Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Video
- Self-hostingGLM-4.6Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Aion-2.0 | GLM-4.6 | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 48 | 48 | 50 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 35 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 25 | 32 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 39/100 | 41/100 | 61/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Aion-2.0Aion Labs | GLM-4.6Z.ai (Zhipu) | Nova 2 LiteAmazon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.80 | $0.60 | $0.315 (best) |
| Output | $1.60 (best) | $2.20 | $2.63 |
| Cached input | — | $0.11 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.00 | $1.00 | $0.892 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 3 providers | Official Z.AI API | Median of 6 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 204,800 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) | 65,536 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes | Yeslow · medium · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | glm-4.6 | nova-2-lite-v1 |
| API providers | 3 | 29 (best) | 8 |
| Released | Dec 21, 2025 | Sep 30, 2025 | Dec 2, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Apr 2025 | Oct 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Aion-2.0$11.20
- GLM-4.6$10.40
- Nova 2 Lite$8.40
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Aion-2.0, GLM-4.6 or Nova 2 Lite?
Nova 2 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 61/100 against GLM-4.6 (41) and Aion-2.0 (39). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Aion-2.0, GLM-4.6 or Nova 2 Lite?
Nova 2 Lite is cheaper at $0.315 input / $2.63 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers; free on Nova). Aion-2.0 costs $0.80 input / $1.60 output per million tokens (median across 3 API providers); GLM-4.6 costs $0.60 input / $2.20 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.892 per million tokens for Nova 2 Lite versus $1.00 for Aion-2.0 (1.1× as much) and $1.00 for GLM-4.6 (1.1× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Aion-2.0 has not been scored yet, GLM-4.6 has not been scored yet and Nova 2 Lite has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Aion-2.0, GLM-4.6 and Nova 2 Lite yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Nova 2 Lite has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 204,800 for GLM-4.6 and 131,072 for Aion-2.0. Maximum output per response: Aion-2.0 up to 32,768, GLM-4.6 up to 131,072, Nova 2 Lite up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Aion-2.0 accepts text; GLM-4.6 accepts text; Nova 2 Lite accepts text, images, PDFs and video. Nova 2 Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
GLM-4.6 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Aion-2.0 and Nova 2 Lite is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Aion-2.0 is the newest, released Dec 21, 2025. Nova 2 Lite came out Dec 2, 2025; GLM-4.6 came out Sep 30, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GLM-4.6 Apr 2025, Nova 2 Lite Oct 2025.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.
