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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B vs North Mini Code

Too close to call on our weighted score (Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B 71, North Mini Code 71). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. NVIDIA

    Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B

    Released Aug 11, 2026

    71/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.05 / $0.20
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B

  2. Cohere

    North Mini Code

    Released Jun 9, 2026

    71/100
    • ECI—
    • PriceFree / Free
    • Context256K
    Full specs Remove North Mini Code

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01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B 71/100, North Mini Code 71/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: North Mini Code on price and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B for long inputs. 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 priceNorth Mini CodeNorth Mini Code Free · Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B $0.087 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextNemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3BNemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B 262,144 · North Mini Code 256,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsNemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B: Text · North Mini Code: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightNemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3BNorth Mini Code
Price50%100100
Inputs & features30%4545
Context window20%3736
Overall100%71/10071/100

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.

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B vs North Mini Code specifications side by side
SpecificationNemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3BNVIDIANorth Mini CodeCohere
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.05Free (best)
Output$0.20Free (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.087Free (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 9 providersOfficial Cohere API
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens (best)256,000 tokens
Max output262,144 tokens (best)64,000 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYeshigh
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesYes
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model IDnvidia/nemotron-3.5-lightning-30b-a3bnorth-mini-code-1-0
API providers12 (best)2
ReleasedAug 11, 2026Jun 9, 2026
Knowledge cutoff—Sep 23, 2025
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.

  • Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B$0.90
  • North Mini CodeFree
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B or North Mini Code?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B 71/100, North Mini Code 71/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: North Mini Code on price and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B for long inputs. 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, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B or North Mini Code?

North Mini Code is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Cohere API price). Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B costs $0.05 input / $0.20 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers; free on Nvidia). North Mini Code is listed as free.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B has not been scored yet and North Mini Code has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B and North Mini Code 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?

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 256,000 for North Mini Code. Maximum output per response: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B up to 262,144, North Mini Code up to 64,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B accepts text; North Mini Code 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. North Mini Code came out Jun 9, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: North Mini Code Sep 23, 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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