Hy-MT2-1.8B vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B comes out ahead, 68 to 49 on our weighted score, though Hy-MT2-1.8B is 15% cheaper per token.
TencentHy-MT2-1.8B
49/100- ECI—
- Price$0.044 / $0.177
- Context8K
- Our pick
NVIDIANemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B
68/100- ECI—
- Price$0.055 / $0.20
- Context262K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is our pick
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Hy-MT2-1.8B (49). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Hy-MT2-1.8B 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 priceHy-MT2-1.8BHy-MT2-1.8B $0.077 · Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B $0.091 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextNemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3BNemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B 262,144 · Hy-MT2-1.8B 8,192 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsHy-MT2-1.8B: Text · Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Hy-MT2-1.8B | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 98 | 95 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 0 | 45 |
| Context window | 20% | 0 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 49/100 | 68/100 |
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 | Hy-MT2-1.8BTencent | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3BNVIDIA |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.044 (best) | $0.055 |
| Output | $0.177 (best) | $0.20 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.077 (best) | $0.091 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 3 providers | Median of 10 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 8,192 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 4,096 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Tool calling | No | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| API model ID | — | nvidia/nemotron-3.5-lightning-30b-a3b |
| API providers | 3 | 15 (best) |
| Released | May 21, 2026 | Aug 11, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Sep 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Hy-MT2-1.8B$0.794
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B$0.95
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Hy-MT2-1.8B or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Hy-MT2-1.8B (49). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Hy-MT2-1.8B 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, Hy-MT2-1.8B or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B?
Hy-MT2-1.8B is cheaper at $0.044 input / $0.177 output per million tokens (median across 3 API providers). Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B costs $0.055 input / $0.20 output per million tokens (median across 10 API providers; free on Nvidia). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.077 per million tokens for Hy-MT2-1.8B versus $0.091 for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B (1.2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Hy-MT2-1.8B has not been scored yet and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Hy-MT2-1.8B and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Hy-MT2-1.8B does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 8,192 for Hy-MT2-1.8B. Maximum output per response: Hy-MT2-1.8B up to 4,096, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B up to 262,144 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Hy-MT2-1.8B accepts text; Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B is the newest, released Aug 11, 2026. Hy-MT2-1.8B came out May 21, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B Sep 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.
Related comparisons
- Add DiffusionGemma 26B A4B ITThree-way comparison
- Hy-MT2-1.8B vs DiffusionGemma 26B A4B ITGoogle
- Hy-MT2-1.8B vs Schematron V2 SmallInference.net
- Hy-MT2-1.8B vs Ling 3.0 FlashinclusionAI
- Hy-MT2-1.8B vs Granite 4.2 8BIBM
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B vs Ling 3.0 FlashinclusionAI
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B vs Granite 4.2 8BIBM
