Nova 2 Lite vs Grok Build 0.1 vs Mistral Large 3
Nova 2 Lite comes out ahead, 61 to 53 and 52 on our weighted score, though Mistral Large 3 is 16% cheaper per token.
- Our pick
AmazonNova 2 Lite
61/100- ECI—
- Price$0.315 / $2.63
- Context1M
xAIGrok Build 0.1
53/100- ECI—
- Price$1.00 / $2.00
- Context256K
Mistral AIMistral Large 3
52/100- ECI—
- Price$0.50 / $1.50
- Context262K
Nova 2 Lite is our pick
Nova 2 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 61/100 against Grok Build 0.1 (53) and Mistral Large 3 (52). It leads on context window. Mistral Large 3 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 priceMistral Large 3Mistral Large 3 $0.75 · Nova 2 Lite $0.892 · Grok Build 0.1 $1.25 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextNova 2 LiteNova 2 Lite 1,000,000 · Mistral Large 3 262,144 · Grok Build 0.1 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsNova 2 LiteNova 2 Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Video · Grok Build 0.1: Text, Images, PDFs · Mistral Large 3: Text, Images
- Self-hostingMistral Large 3Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Nova 2 Lite | Grok Build 0.1 | Mistral Large 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 50 | 43 | 53 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 80 | 60 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 36 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 61/100 | 53/100 | 52/100 |
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 | Nova 2 LiteAmazon | Grok Build 0.1xAI | Mistral Large 3Mistral AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.315 (best) | $1.00 | $0.50 |
| Output | $2.63 | $2.00 | $1.50 (best) |
| Cached input | — | $0.20 | $0.05 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.892 | $1.25 | $0.75 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Over 200K: $2.00 / $4.00 | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 6 providers | Official xAI API | Official Mistral API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 256,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens | 256,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | Yes | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | Yes | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yeslow · medium · high | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | nova-2-lite-v1 | grok-build-0.1 | mistral-large-2512 |
| API providers | 8 | 20 (best) | 17 |
| Released | Dec 2, 2025 | Apr 16, 2026 | Dec 2, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Oct 2025 | — | Nov 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Nova 2 Lite$8.40
- Grok Build 0.1$14.00
- Mistral Large 3$8.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Nova 2 Lite, Grok Build 0.1 or Mistral Large 3?
Nova 2 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 61/100 against Grok Build 0.1 (53) and Mistral Large 3 (52). It leads on context window. Mistral Large 3 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, Nova 2 Lite, Grok Build 0.1 or Mistral Large 3?
Mistral Large 3 is cheaper at $0.50 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). Nova 2 Lite costs $0.315 input / $2.63 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers; free on Nova); Grok Build 0.1 costs $1.00 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (official xAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.75 per million tokens for Mistral Large 3 versus $0.892 for Nova 2 Lite (1.2× as much) and $1.25 for Grok Build 0.1 (1.7× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Nova 2 Lite has not been scored yet, Grok Build 0.1 has not been scored yet and Mistral Large 3 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Nova 2 Lite, Grok Build 0.1 and Mistral Large 3 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Nova 2 Lite has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Mistral Large 3 and 256,000 for Grok Build 0.1. Maximum output per response: Nova 2 Lite up to 65,536, Grok Build 0.1 up to 256,000, Mistral Large 3 up to 262,144 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Nova 2 Lite accepts text, images, PDFs and video; Grok Build 0.1 accepts text, images and PDFs; Mistral Large 3 accepts text and images. Nova 2 Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Mistral Large 3 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Nova 2 Lite and Grok Build 0.1 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Grok Build 0.1 is the newest, released Apr 16, 2026. Nova 2 Lite came out Dec 2, 2025; Mistral Large 3 came out Dec 2, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Nova 2 Lite Oct 2025, Mistral Large 3 Nov 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.
