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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B vs Nova Lite

Nova Lite comes out ahead, 75 to 51 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Nous Research

    Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B

    Released Apr 30, 2024

    51/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.14 / $0.14
    • Context8K
  2. Our pick

    Amazon

    Nova Lite

    Released Dec 3, 2024

    75/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.06 / $0.24
    • Context300K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Nova Lite is our pick

Nova Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B (51). 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 LiteNova Lite $0.105 · Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B $0.14 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextNova LiteNova Lite 300,000 · Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B 8,192 tokens
  • Widest inputsNova LiteHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B: Text · Nova Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Video
  • Self-hostingHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8BPublishes downloadable weights (Llama 3 Community License)
How the score is built
MeasureWeightHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8BNova Lite
Price50%8792
Inputs & features30%2570
Context window20%039
Overall100%51/10075/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B vs Nova Lite specifications side by side
SpecificationHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8BNous ResearchNova LiteAmazon
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.14$0.06 (best)
Output$0.14 (best)$0.24
Cached input—$0.015
Blended (3:1)$0.14$0.105 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 2 providersOfficial Amazon Bedrock API
Limits
Context window8,192 tokens300,000 tokens (best)
Max output8,192 tokens10,000 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoYes
AudioNoNo
VideoNoYes
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenLlama 3 Community LicenseProprietary
API model ID—amazon.nova-lite-v1:0
API providers28 (best)
ReleasedApr 30, 2024Dec 3, 2024
Knowledge cutoff—Oct 2024
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B$1.68
  • Nova Lite$1.08
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B or Nova Lite?

Nova Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B (51). 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, Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B or Nova Lite?

Nova Lite is cheaper at $0.06 input / $0.24 output per million tokens (official Amazon Bedrock API price). Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B costs $0.14 input / $0.14 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.105 per million tokens for Nova Lite versus $0.14 for Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B (1.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B has not been scored yet and Nova Lite has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B and Nova Lite yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Nova Lite has the largest context window at 300,000 tokens, against 8,192 for Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B. Maximum output per response: Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B up to 8,192, Nova Lite up to 10,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B accepts text; Nova Lite accepts text, images, PDFs and video. Nova Lite handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B publishes its weights (Llama 3 Community License) and can be self-hosted; Nova Lite is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Nova Lite is the newest, released Dec 3, 2024. Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B came out Apr 30, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Nova Lite Oct 2024.

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.