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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B vs Qwen3.5 9B Base

Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B comes out ahead, 54 to 50 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    NVIDIA

    Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B

    Released Mar 11, 2026

    54/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.15 / $0.65
    • Context262K
  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.5 9B Base

    Released Feb 26, 2026

    50/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.30 / $0.807
    • Context262K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B is our pick

Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B is the better all-round choice, scoring 54/100 against Qwen3.5 9B Base (50). It leads 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 priceNemotron 3 Super 120B A12BNemotron 3 Super 120B A12B $0.275 · Qwen3.5 9B Base $0.427 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameNemotron 3 Super 120B A12B 262,144 · Qwen3.5 9B Base 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3.5 9B BaseNemotron 3 Super 120B A12B: Text · Qwen3.5 9B Base: Text, Images, Video
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightNemotron 3 Super 120B A12BQwen3.5 9B Base
Price50%7365
Inputs & features30%3535
Context window20%3737
Overall100%54/10050/100

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 Super 120B A12B vs Qwen3.5 9B Base specifications side by side
SpecificationNemotron 3 Super 120B A12BNVIDIAQwen3.5 9B BaseAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.15 (best)$0.30
Output$0.65 (best)$0.807
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.275 (best)$0.427
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 16 providersMedian of 1 providers
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens262,144 tokens
Max output262,144 tokens (best)65,536 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoYes
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesNo
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpenApache-2.0
API model ID——
API providers18 (best)1
ReleasedMar 11, 2026Feb 26, 2026
Knowledge cutoffJun 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 Super 120B A12B$2.80
  • Qwen3.5 9B Base$4.61
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B or Qwen3.5 9B Base?

Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B is the better all-round choice, scoring 54/100 against Qwen3.5 9B Base (50). It leads 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, Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B or Qwen3.5 9B Base?

Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B is cheaper at $0.15 input / $0.65 output per million tokens (median across 16 API providers). Qwen3.5 9B Base costs $0.30 input / $0.807 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.275 per million tokens for Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B versus $0.427 for Qwen3.5 9B Base (1.6× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B has not been scored yet and Qwen3.5 9B Base has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B and Qwen3.5 9B Base yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Qwen3.5 9B Base does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.

Which has the bigger context window?

Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B and Qwen3.5 9B Base share the same 262,144-token context window. Maximum output per response: Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B up to 262,144, Qwen3.5 9B Base up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B accepts text; Qwen3.5 9B Base accepts text, images and video. Qwen3.5 9B Base handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights (Apache-2.0), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B is the newest, released Mar 11, 2026. Qwen3.5 9B Base came out Feb 26, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Nemotron 3 Super 120B A12B Jun 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.