Aion-2.0 vs GPT-5.1 Codex mini vs Nova 2 Lite
Nova 2 Lite comes out ahead, 61 to 54 and 39 on our weighted score, though GPT-5.1 Codex mini is 23% cheaper per token.
Aion Labs
Aion-2.0
39/100- ECI—
- Price$0.80 / $1.60
- Context131K
OpenAIGPT-5.1 Codex mini
54/100- ECI—
- Price$0.25 / $2.00
- Context400K
- 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 GPT-5.1 Codex mini (54) and Aion-2.0 (39). It leads on inputs & features and context window. GPT-5.1 Codex mini wins on price. 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 priceGPT-5.1 Codex miniGPT-5.1 Codex mini $0.688 · Nova 2 Lite $0.892 · Aion-2.0 $1.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextNova 2 LiteNova 2 Lite 1,000,000 · GPT-5.1 Codex mini 400,000 · Aion-2.0 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsNova 2 LiteAion-2.0: Text · GPT-5.1 Codex mini: Text, Images · Nova 2 Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Aion-2.0 | GPT-5.1 Codex mini | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 48 | 55 | 50 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 60 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 25 | 44 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 39/100 | 54/100 | 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 | GPT-5.1 Codex miniOpenAI | Nova 2 LiteAmazon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.80 | $0.25 (best) | $0.315 |
| Output | $1.60 (best) | $2.00 | $2.63 |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.00 | $0.688 (best) | $0.892 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 3 providers | Median of 16 providers | Median of 6 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 400,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 128,000 tokens (best) | 65,536 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | 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 | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | — | nova-2-lite-v1 |
| API providers | 3 | 16 (best) | 8 |
| Released | Dec 21, 2025 | Nov 13, 2025 | Dec 2, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Sep 30, 2024 | 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
- GPT-5.1 Codex mini$6.50
- Nova 2 Lite$8.40
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Aion-2.0, GPT-5.1 Codex mini or Nova 2 Lite?
Nova 2 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 61/100 against GPT-5.1 Codex mini (54) and Aion-2.0 (39). It leads on inputs & features and context window. GPT-5.1 Codex mini wins on price. 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, GPT-5.1 Codex mini or Nova 2 Lite?
GPT-5.1 Codex mini is cheaper at $0.25 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (median across 16 API providers). Nova 2 Lite costs $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). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.688 per million tokens for GPT-5.1 Codex mini versus $0.892 for Nova 2 Lite (1.3× as much) and $1.00 for Aion-2.0 (1.5× 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, GPT-5.1 Codex mini 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, GPT-5.1 Codex mini 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 400,000 for GPT-5.1 Codex mini and 131,072 for Aion-2.0. Maximum output per response: Aion-2.0 up to 32,768, GPT-5.1 Codex mini up to 128,000, Nova 2 Lite up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Aion-2.0 accepts text; GPT-5.1 Codex mini accepts text and images; Nova 2 Lite accepts text, images, PDFs and video. Nova 2 Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Aion-2.0, GPT-5.1 Codex mini and Nova 2 Lite are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Aion-2.0 is the newest, released Dec 21, 2025. Nova 2 Lite came out Dec 2, 2025; GPT-5.1 Codex mini came out Nov 13, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-5.1 Codex mini Sep 30, 2024, 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.
