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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B vs solar-mini

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B comes out ahead, 65 to 52 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    NVIDIA

    Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B

    Released Apr 7, 2025

    65/100
    • ECI—
    • PriceFree / Free
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B

  2. Upstage

    solar-mini

    Released Jun 12, 2024

    52/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.15 / $0.15
    • Context33K
    Full specs Remove solar-mini

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is our pick

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is the better all-round choice, scoring 65/100 against solar-mini (52). 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 priceLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253BLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B Free · solar-mini $0.15 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253BLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B 128,000 · solar-mini 32,768 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B: Text · solar-mini: Text
  • Self-hostingLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253BPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253Bsolar-mini
Price50%10089
Inputs & features30%3525
Context window20%240
Overall100%65/10052/100

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.

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B vs solar-mini specifications side by side
SpecificationLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253BNVIDIAsolar-miniUpstage
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
InputFree (best)$0.15
OutputFree (best)$0.15
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)Free (best)$0.15
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Nvidia APIOfficial Upstage API
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens (best)32,768 tokens
Max output8,192 tokens (best)4,096 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model IDnvidia/llama-3.1-nemotron-ultra-253b-v1solar-mini
API providers11
ReleasedApr 7, 2025Jun 12, 2024
Knowledge cutoff—Sep 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.

  • Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253BFree
  • solar-mini$1.80
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B or solar-mini?

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is the better all-round choice, scoring 65/100 against solar-mini (52). 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, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B or solar-mini?

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Nvidia API price). solar-mini costs $0.15 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (official Upstage API price). Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is listed as free.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B has not been scored yet and solar-mini has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B and solar-mini 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?

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B has the largest context window at 128,000 tokens, against 32,768 for solar-mini. Maximum output per response: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B up to 8,192, solar-mini up to 4,096 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B accepts text; solar-mini accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; solar-mini is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is the newest, released Apr 7, 2025. solar-mini came out Jun 12, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: solar-mini Sep 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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